Drive by Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley and you will notice all the major signs taken down — that's because the stadium is getting a new name.
When Qualcomm's lease ended in June, the company declined to purchase the naming rights again.
Now the city of San Diego is working with San Diego State Sports Properties, a division of Fox Sports College Properties, to close a deal.
“Small companies, mid-sized companies, national companies were all welcome to submit a bid," Duke Little said.
Little is vice president and general manager of San Diego State Sports Properties, the advertising agency handling the bidding.
"A normal naming rights partnership program could range from $1 million to $2 million to $3 million per year depending on the length of the term," he said. "This is 16 months, it’s very short. I think we were going to be optimistic to get to $500,000 or north of that number. Anything north of $250,000 or $300,000 would be a nice chunk of change for the city.”
Little understands the legacy of Qualcomm Stadium though. It has hosted some big events over the last 20 years, including the Super Bowl in 2003.
“There are iconic names that kind of stick with people; probably a certain generation still refers to it as the Murph," he said. "Many of the younger generation growing up over the last 18 years knowing it as the Q, will probably always call it the Q.”
San Diego State Sports Properties is reviewing bids right now and plan to present their choice to the San Diego City Council in mid-September for final approval.
“We met with the city yesterday to review the options that came our way," Little said. "We have a couple that we are doing more due-diligence on.”
