On Wednesday night, the Buffalo Bills announced that New Era would be released from their naming rights deal. The Bills’ current stadium does not have a team name. Initially, I cracked wise on what the name should be called and I’ll get to that in a bit. But it got me thinking about who would purchase the naming rights for the stadium. Without further ado, here are my five recommendations for what will formerly be known as New Era Field. It does come with a caveat: every new name has to include “at Orchard Park” because the Bills don’t technically play in Buffalo.
Recommendation 1: Ralph Wilson Memorial Stadium at Orchard Park
Before New Era purchased the naming rights in 2016, the stadium was known as Ralph Wilson Stadium. It was named as such to memorialize longtime team owner Ralph Wilson. So, this is the first of my first name recommendations for New Era Field. It would be to restore the Wilson name and forever memorialize the man who brought football to Buffalo. And why memorial stadium? Because Wilson served in the Navy during World War II and was a badass marksman in his lifetime. He could literally shoot you from beyond the grave.
Recommendation 2: Rich Stadium at Orchard Park
The second of my name recommendations for New Era Field is Rich Stadium (at Orchard Park). For the first 25 years of its existence, the stadium was known as Rich Stadium. For years, I would ponder, “Who the hell is Rich and why does he have his own stadium?” Prior to the opening of the Bills’ new stadium in 1973, Rich Products (based in Buffalo) purchased the naming rights to the stadium. It was the first of such naming rights bought by a corporation before it was cool. The company is still based in Buffalo; why not have a locally-based company purchase the name rights again? That’s my second name recommendation for New Era Field.
Recommendation 3: TB12 Field at Orchard Park
The Buffalo Bills have had three owners in their 60-year history: Wilson, Terry and Kim Pegula, and Tom Brady. Brady is an astonishing 32-3 in his career against the Bills, including 15-2 in Orchard Park. What if Brady were to break the lease on his TB12 store at Gillette Stadium, set up shop in or around Buffalo, and then BUY the name rights to the stadium? Brady could certainly afford the rights: his net worth is reportedly $200M and he’s earning $30M a year for the next three years. That’s my third recommendation.
Recommendation 4: Trump Field at Orchard Park
My fourth name recommendation would be done by our President. In 1986, the man who would later become President Donald Trump challenged the NFL and attempted to move the USFL to the fall. Nearly 28 years later, Trump attempted to purchase the Bills but was outbid by the Pegulas. (Or the NFL was still holding a grudge about the USFL thing. You tell me.) I don’t know the federal rules of being in public office and if you can run business operations while in office. But wouldn’t it be the ultimate “eff you” to the NFL if Trump bought the name rights for Orchard Park Stadium? Think about it: Trump Tower lettering in giant gold letters, only it says Trump Field (at Orchard Park). Bigly!
Recommendation 5: Fieldie McFieldface at Orchard Park
My fifth and final name recommendation to replace New Era Field is from a subtweet I sent as soon as I saw this news.
[starts crowdfunding to make Fieldie McFieldface a thing] https://t.co/775fTC4xtg
— Ryan McCarthy (@WhoIsRyanMcC) July 16, 2020
In the style of the “Name Our Ship” effort from the Royal Navy when the public voted a new vessel Boaty McBoatface (which became the RRS Sir David Attenborough), we would do the same. I would love a crowdfunding campaign where the football fans of the world could unite to collectively purchase the rights and name a stadium to THIS. But my biggest fear would that it would turn out like the Michael Scott Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run for the Cure. I would raise $700, but $500 would be out of my own savings and $200 would be to used to purchase a giant check to give to Pegula Sports and Entertainment.
What do you think the Bills’ stadium should be named? Sound off below or hit me up on Twitter, @WhoIsRyanMcC. Speaking of athletes who could purchase naming rights, check out Parker Ainsworth’s perspective on the Patrick Mahomes’ payday. Thanks for reading and I’ll try to do better next time.
