Fans celebrate during MLS Cup 2012, played between LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., Dec. 1. (VT Photo)
What a way to start the Major League Soccer season.
AEG was already in partnership with secondary ticketing service StubHub to add listings to AXS, AEG’s ticketing service. The deal between the venue management company and the eBay-owned secondary market service was inked in November. Now, an additional link has been established between the two companies.
StubHub has signed a multiyear, multimillion-dollar deal for naming rights at the AEG-owned Major League Soccer stadium in Carson, Calif., to be named StubHub Center. The venue has been known as Home Depot Center for the last 10 years, in a $70-million deal that began June 1, 2003.
It’s no coincidence that the two independent agreements between StubHub and AEG occurred in such quick succession.
“We were focused on the AXS piece and that opportunity, and when the naming rights became available midway through our discussions, it made too much sense, so we decided to expand our relationship,” said Geoff Lester, managing director of partnerships and business development at StubHub.
Nick Baker, VP at AEG Global Partnerships, said that the process didn’t go through an outside agency, but that the deal was made direct with the client.
“It was just a seamless progression,” said Baker, who credited the previous deal between the two companies with making naming rights an easy process.
The rechristened StubHub Center stretches 125 acres, including the 27,000-capacity soccer stadium, an 8,000-seat facility for tennis, a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome and a 2,000-seat track & field facility.
Two MLS teams, Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, call the stadium home, and it serves as the U.S. Soccer Federation’s national team training headquarters. Soccer aside, the facility is also the U.S. Tennis Association’s USA High Performance National Training Center and is an official training site for USA Cycling and USA Track & Field. It's also home to the annual Reebok CrossFit Games.
“[Being home to two MLS teams] certainly didn’t hurt, but we preferred to look at it in terms of the number of events and the number of A-list-type events, which MLS games are,” said Lester. “Having twice the amount of MLS home games was certainly a big factor, but a lot of the other events, as well, made this very intriguing.”
The facility hosts about 150 events each year and has hosted the MLS Cup a record five times.
“The biggest thing that really made this such a perfect fit is that, yes, it’s the home of the Galaxy, but the sheer volume of different types of events really appealed to us, given our business,” added Lester. “You have boxing, cycling, tennis, soccer, track and field — we sell tickets to all of these events and we hope to help people get access to the events they want to see.”
GM Katie Pandolfo said that the signage change will involve switching somewhere between 700 and 900 items.
“The things that take the longest are the freeway marquees and metal fabrication signage, but we also have to think about things like business cards and our email addresses,” said Pandolfo.
The building has from June 1, when the deal starts, until June 19th to make the big change. LA Galaxy have a home game against the Portland Timbers that night. It has been reported that the new partner-ship is for six years, initially.
GM at Home Depot Center, Katie Pandolfo, and Doug Hall, GM at BBVA Compass Stadium, home to the Houston Dynamo, wish each other good luck during the 2012 MLS Cup, where the two teams battled it out. (VT Photo)
She said that StubHub was the obvious choice to partner with once Home Depot decided not to renew naming rights.
“StubHub is very committed to the customer experience and customer engagement, which is something we want to transfer over to the stadium,” Pandolfo added. “They’ve been talking about having the most fan-friendly stadium in the world.”
Baker said that he is excited to have a partner who shares the vision of treating the fan first.
There are a number of ways to achieve a fan-friendly stadium.
“A lot is how we can improve efficiencies in the stadium, like make it easier to get in and out and offering certain selections at concessions,” said Baker. “Obviously there’s the connection with the offering of StubHub as our exclusive secondary ticketing partner and helping send the message to fans that there’s the opportunity if they want to sell any tickets that they have. If they’re looking to attend a sold-out show at StubHub Center, that StubHub is the platform to go to.”
Lester has his own definition when it comes to fan satisfaction.
“My personal goal would be for someone to say that they went to a game at StubHub Center the night before and that it was an amazing time, regardless of what happened on the pitch,” he said.
In addition to the signage, StubHub will receive a suite at the facility, as well as opportunities for in-stadium activations, ideas for which are still being discussed.
However, Lester said he already knows how StubHub will use the suite, the majority of the time.
“We believe in hosting our customers who are fans, and we don’t do much, if any, corporate hospitality,” said Lester. “If you can imagine a fan buying a ticket to a game at the StubHub Center, they might be notified a few hours before that StubHub wants to let them use our suite for the night and bring 12 friends, or something like that.”
“That’s how we’ll use it more often than not, most likely,” he added. “We feel that’s just the way to go — especially when you’re talking about more than 100 events.”
Interviewed for this story: Nick Baker, (213) 763-7700; Geoff Lester, (415) 222-8433; Katie Pandolfo, (310) 630-2054