A naming rights deal in Phoenix, plus the New York Liberty's rise, again suggest the Barclays Center sponsorship is under value

So, naming rights for an arena in Phoenix, housing the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoneix Mercury, have been sold for $115 million over ten years, or $11.5 million a year, according to The Athletic. Welcome to the Mortgage Matchup Center!

Phoenix, of course, is a smaller market than Brooklyn, which is another sign that the 20-year, $10 million/year contract with the British bank Barclays for the Barclays Center is today under value.

In fact, there's a good bet that one reason the Koch family last year invested in arena parent BSE Global--besides, of course, David Koch Jr.'s basketball fandom, sportswashing, and the lure of a scarce commodity--is the upside from the next naming rights deal for the arena.

The Barclays contract expires in 2032, and in 2021--when the Brooklyn Nets had a trio of stars, now gone--the New York Post reported on the desire of Joe Tsai's BSE Global to get a new naming rights sponsor. 

Nothing came of it. 

The WNBA helps 

Today, though, the WNBA's New York Liberty make a naming rights deal more attractive for both a sponsor and the arena operating company. 

The Nets today are rebuilding but able to (seemingly) fill the building. Last year, attendance averaged 17,398, according to ESPN. That's 98.1% of the 17,732 capacity.

Attendance figures are tickets distributed, not gate count, nor paid tickets. Keep in mind that, based on anonymous sources, the New York Post said the 2021-22 Nets, "after giveaways, sold about 15,000 tickets a game." Reported attendance averaged 17,354.

The New York Liberty, who were barely a factor in 2021, now can sell much of the building, and sell out during the playoffs.

This past regular season, they averaged 16,323.05 fans a game, according to Across the Timeline. That's a very respectable 92% of capacity.

In 2024, the Liberty averaged 12,729.50, or 71.8%. In 2023, they averaged 7,776.75, or 43.9%.

A temporary name? 

The Phoenix arena for five years was called the Footprint Center, then temporarily “PHX Arena” until the new naming-rights partner was signed, according to The Athletic.

Does that mean that we might see a temporary "BKLYN Arena"?