by Kyle Arnold
American Airlines will pay $90 million to sponsor a plaza in front of the new NFL football stadium near Los Angeles that’ll be home to the Rams and Chargers, the Fort Worth-based company recently reported.
The stadium’s developer and American Airlines announced the 10-year deal for the naming rights to a 2.5-acre space between the Inglewood stadium and an upcoming concert venue.
The NFL stadium, built by Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, is set to open in 2020 and will host the 2022 Super Bowl. It’s being built on the site of the former Hollywood Park horse racing track.
American Airlines is taking the name of the space formerly known as Champions Plaza, which will span the area between the 70,000-seat football stadium and the 6,000-seat concert venue. In all, the project is expected to cost about $5 billion.
The plaza will include a 10-story synthetic glass-roofed area that will be the main entrance to the stadium. The two-story plaza will be able to hold 15,000 people and will be open year-round and on non-event days.
Naming rights for the stadium and concert venue have not been sold. But the deal for the Inglewood plaza alone is almost twice as costly as the 30-year, $150 million deal the air carrier paid Dallas for naming rights to the American Airlines Center, home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and NHL’s Dallas Stars, according to American Airlines Center.
“For decades, Los Angeles has been one of American’s most important markets and has played a major role in connecting Southern California to the rest of the world,” said a statement from American Airlines President Robert Isom.
American Airlines also owns the naming rights to Miami’s American Airlines Arena, but that sponsorship is set to end at the end of 2019. American Airlines paid $42 million for the 20-year rights to that venue back in 1999.
To compare, AT&T is paying $17 million to $19 million a year for the rights to the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington, ESPN has reported.
American Airlines has reasons to boost its image in Los Angeles, though. The company is spending $1.6 billion on upgrades at Los Angeles International Airport, including overhauls of two terminals. It operates more than 200 daily flights to 70 destinations from LAX.
