Bay City News Service—The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum will be renamed the Overstock.com Coliseum under a $7.2 million, six-year deal approved Wdnesday by the board that oversees the Coliseum complex.
Oakland City Councilman Ignacio de la Fuente, who chairs the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, said the arrangement calls for Salt Lake City-based Overstock.com to pay $1.2 million annually for the next six years for the naming rights to the stadium.
Half of the money will go to Oakland Raiders football team and the other half will be split evenly between the city of Oakland and Alameda County, De la Fuente said.
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He said the city and county look forward to receiving the money because both are grappling with budget shortfalls.
The Coliseum Authority has been looking for a new corporate sponsor for the stadium since 2008, when McAfee Inc. declined to extend its $1.3 million payments for the naming rights.
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De La Fuente said other companies had expressed interest in the naming rights since then but no deals were finalized until now.
The stadium will host its first game under the Overstock name on Friday night, when the A's baseball teams hosts the defending American League champion Texas Rangers.
"Overstock.com is thrilled to become a part of Oakland and Alameda County and to be associated with the Raiders and the A's, two globally recognized championship teams," the company's chief executive Patrick Byrne said in a statement.
Overstock.com was founded in 1999 and employs more than 1,500 people. It offers brand-name merchandise at discounted prices.
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