What's The Cost For Branding Bridges, Snowplows, And High Schools?

Sporting venues with corporate names are near ubiquitous—stay strong, Fenway Park!—because those naming rights can net a fortune. One of the largest deals, for the New York Giants and Jets' MetLife Stadium, was $400 million over 25 years. Now cash-strapped cities want in. Some recent deals:

BP Pedestrian Bridge

Chicago

Downtown Chicago's Millennium Park is home to the BP Pedestrian Bridge. The naming rights to the Frank Gehry-designed winding silver structure cost British Petroleum $5 million.

Cargill snowplows

Indianapolis

When it snows in Indy, Cargill's name comes marching to the rescue. The company provided the city with 125 tons of salt and five Ford F-250 trucks bearing the name Indy Snow Force Powered by Cargill.

CMT high school

Nashville, Tennessee

For in-kind donations and time valued at $100,000 in 2012 and $50,000 every year following, Country Music Television bought the rights to McGavock High School’s communication center, now known as the CMT Academy of Digital Design and Communication.

Can't afford a bridge? How about...

Individuals looking to boost their names on the cheap are in luck: Naming rights for bathrooms—and even individual stalls—are up for grabs at institutions including Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.

Illustration by Byron Eggenschwiler

A version of this article appeared in the October 2012 issue of Fast Company magazine.