PETA Wants Nats Naming Rights
I'd like to see it called "Tofurkey Park."
Not content with veggie chili at the ballpark, PETA sent a letter to Stan Kasten asking to "rent the right to call Nationals Park 'GoVeg.com Field' until a permanent sponsor is found."
The chances of this happening are about the same as the chances of Dmitri Young becoming a raw-food vegan and subsisting primarily on Tofurkey products for the next 24 months. But the chances of this landing free PETA publicity on obscure sports blogs are pretty high.
"PETA believes that the name would be a good fit since PETA got its start some 28 years ago in Washington and the Nationals Park already features several vegetarian options for health-conscious and animal-friendly baseball fans," the release says. "Newly vegetarian sports fans will keep coming out to the ballgame long after their hotdog-chomping counterparts have succumbed to heart attacks, strokes, and cancer."
Morbidity is always a strong selling point for MLB marketing types, from my experience. Anyhow, the letter to Kasten is after the jump, and I fully expect a counter-proposal to name the park "Beef: It's What's For Dinner Stadium."
Dear Mr. Kasten:
On behalf of PETA and our more than 1.8 million members and supporters (including many in the D.C. area), I'm writing regarding recent media reports that you haven't yet found a corporate sponsor to purchase naming rights for Nationals Park. While PETA, as a charity, cannot afford this multimillion-dollar advertising opportunity, we would like to propose that you rent us the rights until you find a permanent sponsor. For that interim period, we would call the stadium GoVeg.com Field. See the proposed design (attached).
GoVeg.com Field would be an ideal new name for Nationals Park for many reasons. The stadium already offers a good selection of vegetarian food, such as a tasty new veggie burger. (Last year, the Nationals earned an honorable mention in our ranking of vegetarian-friendly ballparks.) The Nationals have been working hard to minimize the environmental impact of the new stadium, and promoting a vegetarian diet to fans fits perfectly with this goal (a recent United Nations report concluded that the meat industry causes almost 50 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, SUVs, planes, and ships in the world combined.) Of course, many fans who care about the environment also care about animals. And every vegetarian saves more than 100 animals each year from being abused, including by being intensively confined and having their throats slit while still conscious.
The Nationals want their fan base to be healthy. Because vegetarians are less prone to heart disease, obesity, and various types of cancer, vegetarian options will help them cheer on the Nationals for many seasons to come. Finally, the new stadium name would put the Nationals on the cutting edge of the growing trend toward vegetarianism among elite athletes--Prince Fielder, Salim Stoudamire, Tony Gonzalez, and Carl Lewis are just a few of the athletes who have ditched meat in favor of humane, healthy fare and testified that their performance has improved as a result.
Sincerely,
Dan Shannon
Assistant Director, PETA
By Dan Steinberg |
April 2, 2008; 10:53 AM ET
| Category:
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Posted by: StetSports.com | April 2, 2008 11:05 AM
PETA is the biggest bunch of hypocrites on the planet.
Check out www.petakillsanimals.com
Granted, it's a site run by the restaurant industry, but it's still all true.
Posted by: byte | April 2, 2008 11:11 AM
GoF*ckYourselvesPETA.com
Posted by: Chili Half Smoke | April 2, 2008 11:13 AM
I don't care who buys the naming rights to Nationals Park. I won't be calling the stadium anything but Nationals Park.
FedUp Field is Redskins Stadium to me no matter who Danny Boy gets to buy the rights. And the place where the Caps and Wiz play their games is the place where the Caps and Wiz play their games.
If everyone stopped calling these stadiums by their corporate names then maybe this silliness will stop. I never understood why the media gives free advertising to these corporate stadium names. Maybe that helps explain the massive drop in print advertising in newspapers these days.
Posted by: Nats Fan Sec. 143 | April 2, 2008 11:31 AM
Honestly, who cares what the stadium is called? If you don't like it, act like Nats Fan Sec. 143 and call the stadium whatever the hell you want.
Posted by: R.J. | April 2, 2008 11:49 AM
"Maybe that helps explain the massive drop in print advertising in newspapers these days."
Posted by: Nats Fan Sec. 143 | April 2, 2008 11:31 AM
That and no one is buying print newspapers.
Posted by: Kev | April 2, 2008 12:11 PM
"Usinger Brautwurst Park"
Posted by: Mark B | April 2, 2008 01:18 PM
While I won't get into any sort of argument regarding PETA's stance on whatever, I think by the looks of that picture, they definitely eat brains of some sort.
Posted by: Bobtimist | April 2, 2008 01:32 PM
Silly Vegans... what do we have canines and incisors for?
Posted by: AlecW81 | April 2, 2008 01:34 PM
How 'bout "PETA Members are Mentally Ill Stadium"?
Posted by: Bill | April 2, 2008 01:44 PM
Heart Attacks Are A Small Price To Pay To Not Have To Eat Tofu For The Rest Of Your Life Park
Posted by: jrp | April 2, 2008 03:08 PM
Peta supports terrorism, learn the facts before supporting http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/2339
Posted by: Jon | April 2, 2008 03:23 PM
The Washington Post should sell their naming rights. The paper could be the Continental Airlines Washington Post brought to you by Visa.
Posted by: sitruc | April 2, 2008 11:56 PM
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Would it be safe to say that you are the only vegetarian blogger as well? Nice one, Steinz.
Go Beets!