Atheists seek stadium naming rights by the hour
Newswire Services
February 02, 2010
An Atheist public policy group is seeking hourly naming rights to the stadium the Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010 CE Super Bowl will be played in. The stadium has had seven names since it was built in 1987, including three names in the last twelve months. Most recently, the name was Land Shark Stadium for only eight months. The current naming rights winner, Sun Life Financial, will pay approximately $4 million per year in exchange for the stadium being known as Sun Life Stadium. American Atheists, Inc., applauds this effective development in what many see as America's national unifying religion--professional sports--and is offering to participate by paying to have the stadium named "American Atheists Stadium" for one hour--from noon until 1 p.m. on 8 February 2010 CE, the day after the Super Bowl.
The idea for this venture into entrepreneurial advertising for the group came from Development Committee member (and long-time Miami sports fan) Todd Stiefel. Stiefel also found a major donor (who wants to remain anonymous) to back the ambitious plan. Stiefel said, "This is a natural for us. We're quite proud of being good sports and of being quintessentially American in our values and ideas. Given that the naming rights have been sold by the month, it seems reasonable that they will be receptive to selling the name by the hour."
Stiefel noted that the amount the group is offering, $20,000 for the official hour-long name change, "is at a considerably higher rate than the $460 per hour paid by Sun Life Financial. We accept and understand that they will get a volume discount for buying more hours than American Atheists. I cannot wait to see 'American Atheists Stadium' and 'www.atheists.org' posted on the building. This is super!"
Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, noted that "I'm excited about this opportunity to get publicity for the very serious message that there are over 34 million non-religious American adults who are just as deserving of respect as religious Americans. Atheists may not believe in deities, but we do believe in love, integrity, reason, and freedom."
"If the Sun Life Financial and the stadium owners are interested in our offer, we encourage them to contact us," said American Atheists Vice President and Communications Director David Silverman, "if not, we will certainly be open to offers from other cities and other teams.
Additionally, we would be receptive to counter-proposals, such as acquiring the stadium name for one punt or during the next 'Hail Mary' pass."
AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
The idea for this venture into entrepreneurial advertising for the group came from Development Committee member (and long-time Miami sports fan) Todd Stiefel. Stiefel also found a major donor (who wants to remain anonymous) to back the ambitious plan. Stiefel said, "This is a natural for us. We're quite proud of being good sports and of being quintessentially American in our values and ideas. Given that the naming rights have been sold by the month, it seems reasonable that they will be receptive to selling the name by the hour."
Stiefel noted that the amount the group is offering, $20,000 for the official hour-long name change, "is at a considerably higher rate than the $460 per hour paid by Sun Life Financial. We accept and understand that they will get a volume discount for buying more hours than American Atheists. I cannot wait to see 'American Atheists Stadium' and 'www.atheists.org' posted on the building. This is super!"
Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, noted that "I'm excited about this opportunity to get publicity for the very serious message that there are over 34 million non-religious American adults who are just as deserving of respect as religious Americans. Atheists may not believe in deities, but we do believe in love, integrity, reason, and freedom."
"If the Sun Life Financial and the stadium owners are interested in our offer, we encourage them to contact us," said American Atheists Vice President and Communications Director David Silverman, "if not, we will certainly be open to offers from other cities and other teams.
Additionally, we would be receptive to counter-proposals, such as acquiring the stadium name for one punt or during the next 'Hail Mary' pass."
AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
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