I am all for sponsorships and selling naming rights, but usually you want a brand which represents your franchise(s) well. For some reason, the name “sleep train” doesn’t exactly represent a professional NBA team or provide some amount of fear to the opponent.
According to The Sac Bee:
The Sacramento Kings and Sleep Train Mattress Centers today announced they have signed a multi-year deal to rename the team’s Natomas arena for the mattress chain.
Dale Carlsen, Sleep Train founder and CEO, said his company, based in Rocklin, has signed a five-year deal with the Kings.
“We’re hopeful they’ll be here a long time,” Carlsen said of the team. The deal includes an option to end the contract or renegotiate it if the Kings decide to leave Sacramento during the five years, Carlsen said.
He and Kings officials refused to discuss dollar amounts. The name change will occur in November.
I guess it could be worse?