Insurance company pays $700 million - to name a stadium for 30 years

[The Straight Story]

Farmers Insurance Group agreed to put its name on a proposed stadium designed to lure the National Football League back to Los Angeles.

The 30-year naming deal with Anschutz Entertainment Group, which plans to build a $1 billion downtown stadium, was announced today at a news conference in Los Angeles.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The Los Angeles Times, citing unidentified people familiar with the negotiations, said the deal may be worth $700 million, breaking the record $400 million New York-based Citigroup Inc. is paying for the right to call the New York Mets’ Major League Baseball stadium Citi Field for 20 years.

“This is about jobs, this is about revitalizing the city center,” Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said at the news conference. “The idea that this city, the second-largest media market in the United States of America, does not have a football team boggles the mind. With this announcement today, it is clear -- football is coming back to Los Angeles.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-01/los-angeles-aims-to-win-nfl-team-as-farmers-insurance-puts-name-on-stadium.html