Dallas Cowboys Stadium Now Named AT&T Stadium

The Dallas Cowboys’ stadium has been renamed to AT&T Stadium effective immediately. The announcement was made during a press conference on Thursday and is part of a multi-year, multi-million dollar branding deal.

The $1.2 billion stadium will bear the name of the wireless company for an unknown amount of time. The company will also pay between $17 and $19 million per year for the rights.

While details of the deal weren’t immediately disclosed, team owner Jerry Jones acknowledged that the contract with AT&T isn’t “the most in dollars that there has been for naming rights,” reports ESPN.

AT&T executive Cathy Coughlin added that the company believes the name change won’t be reflected badly. She added:

“Our objective is to integrate [the new name] seamlessly as if it had been there since the beginning. We’re very proud to have our name on the stadium.”

The Dallas Cowboys official site included a report about the stadium’s name change. During the conference, Jones added:

“With AT&T, we are growing our relationship with one of the world’s strongest and most innovative companies to ultimately provide fans with the latest cutting-edge technology for many years to come.”

Coughlin also expressed the company’s excitement at the Dallas Cowboys stadium’s new name, explaining, “This is a terrific opportunity to further integrate AT&T’s industry-leading mobile technology with the premier sports and entertainment venue to create a world-class fan experience.”

Along with the new name on the stadium, AT&T will continue improving the capacity of its 4G network around the stadium, doubling the capacity of its WiFi network inside, and will include an enhanced mobile app for fans to enhance their experience on game days.

Football games aren’t the only events to be held at the newly renamed AT&T Stadium either. While it already hosts about 30 marquee events per year, it will host even more in the future. Those include the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, the 2014 and 2015 Cowboys Classic Kick-Off games, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Final Four, and the 2015 First-Ever College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck also expressed excitement at the Dallas Cowboys stadium name change. He added that the city will receive five percent of the revenue from the naming rights each year. While he did not say how much that would be, Cluck explained it will help Arlington pay off the debt it owes to build the stadium four years ago. The debt should be paid off in 15 years, rather than the original 30-year plan.

Do you think the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium should be renamed to AT&T Stadium?

[Image by Mahanga via Wikimedia Commons]