When it comes to building brand, a strategy of “take me out to the ball game” seems to work for a lot of banks.

No other industry has been more aggressive than banking when it comes to buying naming rights to sporting facilities, says Eric Smallwood, vice president of marketing for Philadelphia, Penn.’s Front Row Marketing Services, a firm which helps negotiate such deals. Smallwood estimates that within the last 10 years, banks have bought the rights to name at least 14 major league facilities, 18 minor league stadiums, 18 minor league arenas and at least three arenas and seven stadiums at the college level.

Examples include Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y.; BancorpSouth Center in Tupelo, Miss.; Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia; Comerica Park in Detroit; HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.; KeyArena in Seattle, Wash.; and Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium.

Some banks, like Bank of America Corp. and Fifth Third Bancorp, have even purchased the rights to multiple venues in various cities.

These deals, which often can cost tens of millions of dollars, typically secure the bank’s name on an existing or newly built facility for several years, sometimes even decades, Smallwood says. For example, Comerica Inc.’s naming rights deal on Comerica Park, the new stadium that was opened in 2000 as a replacement for the old Tiger Stadium, will cost the bank $66 million over 30 years.

“We wanted to show support for our hometown, but we also wanted to create some name awareness in the national arena,” says Sara Snyder, vice president of corporate communications for Comerica. While the bank wants to connect with customers in and around its headquarter's city of Detroit, she explains, most of Comerica’s growth will come from business in the bank’s new markets, such as Texas, California, Arizona and Florida.

When the Detroit Tigers made it to the World Series this year, Comerica Park was front and center in the coverage. Smallwood estimates that each World Series game played there was worth $6 million in media exposure for the bank.

In addition to publicity, naming rights bring sponsors other benefits, according to Smallwood. For example, he says, there are often exclusive rights to be the on-site ATM provider. And the naming bank will typically become the venue’s and the team’s exclusive financial provider as part of the deal, he says.

If naming rights deals are attached to new facilities that are being built or renovated, Smallwood adds, the corporate financing will typically come from the bank that is paying to put its name on the facility. All these other elements can add up to “tens of millions of dollars” more for a bank in fees, interest, and publicity, he says.

But what happens if a team isn’t doing well or, as in some cases, if there’s an outcry from local fans who don’t like to see the name of their beloved ballpark changed?

Some New Yorkers, for example, initially balked at the news that Citigroup Inc. had purchased the right to name the forthcoming “Citi Field.” The new baseball stadium will replace New York’s Shea Stadium and become home to the New York Mets when it opens in 2009. Citigroup spokesman Rob Julavits says “the reaction will be positive” over time.

For a list of sports venues which have sold their naming rights, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sports_venues_with_sole_naming_rights.

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