Fans Of NL East Rivals Disappointed At Prospect Of Losing One More Thing To Rag On The Mets About
After all, even the Astros quickly abandoned “Enron Field” back in 2002:
Citigroup Inc. may be suffering buyer’s remorse over its pricey naming rights deal for the Mets’ brand new stadium in Queens.
It’s a $400 dollar, 20-year marketing deal between the Mets and Citigroup, and according to Tuesday morning’s Wall Street Journal, officials at the troubled banking institution are exploring the possibility of backing out of the agreement, which includes naming the new baseball stadium after the bank.
In a statement, Citigroup said “no TARP capital will be used for the stadium,” referring to government funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, but Citigroup, which has lost $28 billion since 2007, is now acknowledging that the so called volatile political climate may not make this the best time to name a stadium after the bank.
Citigroup has received $45 billion in bailout help from the feds and another $300 billion in loan guarantees.
Tuesday morning’s report comes days after two outraged congressman wrote the Treasury Secretary, asking him to push Citigroup to dissolve the Mets deal.
Location Scout: Citi Field.
Posted: February 3rd, 2009 | Filed under: Follow The Money, Well, What Did You Expect?