Seattle doesn’t have a name for its professional hockey team yet, but the building where the franchise will play took on a surprising moniker on Thursday. And since Amazon will be slapping Climate Pledge Arena on the place, let’s all agree that a nickname is needed stat — like before the polar ice caps melt away.
Naming rights are always a delicate and disappointing dance when corporate partners step in and pay gobs of money to brand public spaces.
Safeco Field, home of the Mariners, sounded lousy at first and eventually just became shortened to “Safeco” or “The Safe” for fans of the baseball team. Now it’s T-Mobile Park, awash in magenta and seemingly without a suitable nickname. CenturyLink Field, home of the Seahawks and Sounders, is referred to as “The Clink” by some and that seems to work fine.
Neither of those places are named as well as the Kingdome was, but those days are long gone.
Amazon’s intentions are certainly noble as it forgoes using its own name and smiley logo atop what was previously KeyArena and instead goes for a name tied to a cause. But “Prime Arena” would have been easy to get used to. Climate Pledge Arena needs some help.
So what are we gonna call the future home of Seattle’s NHL team and the Seattle Storm? Here’s a list of ideas and you should definitely add yours in the comments or tweet them back at us.
- CP Arena. Yawn. How long are hockey games?
- CPA. Yikes. Did the Sonics used to fill this place?
- Amazon’s Icebox. Sounds like something you’d buy on Amazon and put in your garage.
- The Pledge. Take in a concert and polish your wood furniture.
- Amazon Clime. Ugh. This is going badly.
- Hotbox. Nope.
The planet is definitely getting warmer, which is the point behind Amazon’s move here. But are we getting warmer with any of these nicknames?
