We strongly feel that any time a team sells the naming rights for a classic stadium, an Angel losing its wings, and we’re not talking about Garret Anderson. What you say? Teams can’t survive financially in these times without selling the name rights? Well, what about the Dodgers? They’ve decided to keep the legendary name of their field, but still make money by selling the naming rights to different parts of the park. That’s right, the bullpen, the parking lot, the area where they sell the Manny Ramirez dreadlock hats, they’re all up for sale to create revenue to build the half a billion dollar addition in the works. Apparently the days of cities paying for stadiums are long gone. This is the wave of the future, we tells ya.

Available canvases include the bullpens, dugouts, base lines, outfield pavilions, parking gates, press box, Stadium Club, luxury suites and clubhouse. The team’s newly adopted spring training facilities in Arizona are also up for grabs.

As for the branding, William Morris has promised that the company names will be tasteful: Don’t look for the Dodgers’ exclusive Stadium Club to be renamed for a racy “gentlemen’s club.”

“The Dodgers are a highly professional organization,” [Jim Wiatt, chairman of William Morris] said. “We want to keep the class and integrity of this franchise.”

So is the bullpen going to be sponsored by Cedar-Sinai hospital or Dr. James Andrews? Is the all-you-can-eat pavilion going to Jenny Craig? The parking lot to Rolex because you keep on looking at your watch seeing how much time you’ve spent trying to get out of it? The opportunities are endless and maybe, just maybe, enough to rake in a little extra to sign Manny Ramirez after Andruw Jones comes off the books.

Dodgers make pitch for naming rights [LA Times]
Images [korbmania.com]