D elta Air Lines will continue to be the official airline of professional baseball in New York, as it has extended its agreements to be both the official airline and official private jet carrier with the New York Yankees through the year 2023; as well as with the New York Mets — and the deals are expected to cost seven figures per year, per team, according to this article written by Darren Heitner of Forbes magazine.
“Since 2008, when Delta first announced partnership deals with the Yankees and Mets” — which officially launched at the beginning of the 2009 season of Major League Baseball — “the airline has flown the two teams 539,340 miles, collectively, to and from away games over eight seasons. That is roughly equivalent to 29,000 round-trips between Citi Field and Yankee Stadium.”
So what does Delta Air Lines get in return for those millions of dollars per team?
- Spaces branded as “Delta Sky360” at the Club level in Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, used to “reach fans in their element, providing them an opportunities to sample Delta’s brand and customer experience while enjoying live baseball games in their favorite venues”
- Brand integration, which includes permanent signage in the left field; and promotional and hospitality programs with both stadiums and teams
Here is a video from Delta Air Lines which highlights its Sky360 clubs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOSX2-OhqM
Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the following profressional sports teams and venues:
- Atlanta Braves
- Minnesota Twins
- Detroit Tigers
- New York Yankees
- New York Mets
- New York Knicks
- New York Rangers
- Syracuse athletics
- Madison Square Garden; as well as all of its entities
From this article posted back on Sunday, January 18, 2015 is this chart of airlines which have been paying for naming rights of stadiums and arenas for years, as extracted from this list by ESPN:
Stadium Name |
Sponsor |
Home Teams |
Average Dollars Per Year |
Year Expires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Centre | Air Canada | Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors | $1.5 million | 2019 |
| American Airlines Arena | American Airlines | Miami Heat | $2.1 million | 2019 |
| America West Arena | America West | Phoenix Suns, Coyotes, Mercury | $866,667 | 2019 |
| Continental Airlines Arena | Continental Airlines | New Jersey Nets, Devils | $1.4 million | 2011 |
| Delta Center | Delta Air Lines | Utah Jazz, Starzz | $1.3 million | 2011 |
| United Center | United Airlines | Chicago Blackhawks, Bulls | $1.8 million | 2014 |
As to what I alluded in this recent article, professional sports is big business which continues to get more and more expensive, as the minimum amount being paid to the New York Yankees alone for the contract extension is eight million dollars — although the undisclosed figure could be as much as $72 million dollars solely for that team…
…and yet taxpayers are still asked to foot the bill for the construction of new stadiums.
What are your thoughts?
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
