Syracuse University to rename the Carrier Dome - what name would fans choose?
Syracuse University announced that starting May 1, the university has the option to change the name of the Carrier Dome after 42 years. If it were up to fans to decide, there's a whole host of new options to choose from, but experts say given the millions of dollars involved in naming rights deals, it would be surprising if JMA Wireless isn't incorporated into the stadium name.
MORE: Syracuse University Carrier Dome to be renamed after more than 40 years
"I think brands look for the naming rights for a number of different reasons," said Syracuse University Advertising Professor Beth Egan, "You're trying to reach as many people as 'we' can with 'our' message, getting your name on a stadium, on a ballpark, that's an opportunity for the name to be repeated time and time again across a lot of different media."
This comes after sports publication "Sportico" reported the news on April 15, suggesting the stadium will be renamed after JMA Wireless, a tech manufacturing company that is building a large campus in Syracuse.
Carrier previously held the naming rights for 42 years - paying $2.5 million in an agreement with the university in 1979, one of the first of its kind.
Syracuse University has spent years trying to renegotiate the "in perpetuity" part of the deal, which in legal terms means "forever." While the naming deal was unique at the time, they are commonplace now, and can cost tens of millions of dollars.
SU and Carrier now have a settlement over the naming rights, and the Carrier name will be dropped and replaced with JMA Wireless, according to reporting from Eben Nov-Williams at Sportico, which has not been confirmed by SU.
After 42 years - Professor Egan said it will be difficult for JMA Wireless to get people to use their name when referring to the iconic stadium.
"People are still going to call it the Carrier Dome," said Professor Egan, "you can force your name into the local dialogue but ultimately people have to adopt it and be willing to call it 'JMA Wireless Dome."
Syracuse University has not commented on what the new name will be - so we took the question to fans following the lacrosse game Sunday.
Some said they don't need anything fancy - just "the dome" will work.
Others are looking to avoid having a corporate sponsor on the stadium, and instead are hoping the university will honor a sporting legend like Carmelo Anthony, Floyd Little, or even Jim Boeheim.
Coach Boeheim's name is already on the basketball court - and during football season, "Ernie Davis Legends Field" is the name on the turf.
Some don't have much of a preference when it comes to a new name, so long as "Carrier" is gone. The company left the Syracuse area in 2016, leading to thousands of people losing their jobs.
"Carrier abandoned a lot of people in Central New York when they moved their headquarters," said Gerry Nicholson, "in my eyes, anything other than Carrier."
