It's official: River Bandits return!
Selecting a nickname proved to be easy.
It was selecting the “new’’ look for the “old’’ name which provided the challenge for Dave Heller and Bob Herrfeldt, the owners of the Midwest League franchise now known as the Quad-Cities River Bandits.
Heller introduced both at a Thursday news conference, announcing that the team is returning to the River Bandits nickname it abandoned four years ago and unveiling a logo which includes a bandana-wearing raccoon, a baseball and an arch of the Centennial Bridge perched on top of the team’s name.
“I went into last season with an open mind, but the nickname vote was loud and clear,’’ Heller said. “As I talked with fans in the stands all summer, I started to sense that that might be the case.’’
Of more than 14,000 votes cast online as part of the Your Team, Your Name contest which allowed fans to choose between six finalists from among 800 initial entries, River Bandits was the choice of 51 percent.
I will add that the new team logo is sweet.
Rocky Raccoon checked into his room/Only to find Gideon's Bible
Someone quipped the other day that Rattler games against Quad City just got less fun to listen to with the loss of the SWING. Now, with no logo and color scheme to make fun of, I'd say that the fun factor in those broadcasts next year has dropped about 75%.
Also in SW....I mean River Bandit news, there was an additional story yesterday on their naming rights deal that I missed.
The fraternal financial services organization will pay $185,000 per year for 10 years for the right to call the Davenport facility Modern Woodmen Park.
An additional part of the contract allows Modern Woodmen to sponsor the kid’s club for the baseball team at a price of $15,000 annually.
...
The annual $185,000 naming rights fee compares to the $425,000 that i wireless paid to turn The Mark of the Quad-Cities into the i wireless Center, and it compares favorably with dollars other Midwest League clubs have generated by selling naming rights to their facilities.
Those dollars range from the $45,000 that Alliant Energy pays annually to the Clinton LumberKings for rights at Alliant Energy Field to the $280,000 per year that Dow Chemical is paying to have its name attached to the Dow Diamond at Midland, Mich., the year-old home of the Great Lakes Loons.
Lansing is paid $100,000 per year by General Motors for naming rights at Oldsmobile Park, while Peoria-based O’Brien Automotive Group pays the Peoria Chiefs $150,000 for rights at O’Brien Field.
There are a pair of handy lists at the bottom of the article:
A comparison of current naming rights agreements involving Midwest League franchises:
Facility Franchise Price Term
Alliant Energy Field Clinton $450,000 10
Dow Diamond Great Lakes $280,000 1
Fifth Third Field Dayton $4,500,000 20
Fifth Third Park W. Michigan NA 20
Modern Woodmen Park Quad-Cities $2,000,000 10
O’Brien Field Peoria $1,050,000 7
Oldsmobile Park Lansing $1,500,000 15
Time Warner Cable Field Wisconsin NA 10
A comparison of current naming rights agreements involving other Midwestern ballparks and arenas:
Alexian Field Schaumburg, Ill. $2,000,000 10
Allstate Arena Rosemont, Ill. $11,000,000 10
Edward Jones Dome St. Louis $73,600,000 23
GMC Park Sauget, Ill. $1,000,000 10
i wireless Center Moline $4,250,000 10
Principal Park Des Moines $2,500,000 NA
Qwest Center Omaha, Neb. $14,000,000 15
Silver Cross Field Joliet, Ill. $2,250,000 15
United Center Chicago $25,000,000 20
U.S. Cellular Center Cedar Rapids, Iowa $125,000 5
U.S. Cellular Field Chicago $60,000,000 20
Wells Fargo Arena Des Moines $11,500,000 20
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