After 13 years as “U.S. Cellular Field,” the White Sox will be changing the name of its home field park to “Guaranteed Rate Field.”
The change, which was announced this afternoon and will go into effect on Nov. 1, comes with a 13-year naming rights deal, though the Sox could extend the deal past 2030, according to DNAinfo.
“We are pleased to find, in Guaranteed Rate, a new naming rights partner founded in Chicago by Chicagoans, which shares our commitment to the city and to our fans,” said Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the White Sox.
In addition, the team stated that Guaranteed Rate will become “the official mortgage and title company of the White Sox.”
Update, 5:55 p.m.:
On a 5:00 p.m. conference call with White Sox Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Brooks Boyer, Guaranteed Rate President & CEO Victor Ciardelli and ISFA Chairman Manny Sanchez, Chicago Agent secured additional details about the deal.
Elaborating on how existing naming rights payments will be handled, Sanchez confirmed that once a certain “threshold” was hit, a revenue figure will go to ISFA. When asked when he expected that threshold to be hit, he said, “It’s gonna be around 2026-2027.”
Though Boyer described U.S. Cellular as a “terrific partner,” the company had exited Chicago in 2013. Earlier this year, the White Sox “put out feelers” to a small group of companies in search of a new naming rights partner.
“It moved quickly and it moved quietly,” Boyer said.
Speculation over what Guaranteed Rate Field’s nickname would be has already taken off on Twitter. When asked what he thought it would be, Boyer said “The fans will ultimately decide.”
Photo Credit: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Cellular_Field.jpg