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| Haterade is in talks to buy the naming rights to the Bakers home field. |
By Ariel Mutha-Tafoya
FSN Sports
The ownership of the 12th Avenue Bakers may not be the only thing about the franchise that is changing.
Late Thursday, FSN learned that new team CEO Bill Cheatham, representing the BakerBackers ownership group, is nearing agreement on a sponsorship deal that would rechristen Grey Goose Stadium as Haterade Coliseum.
According to two sources close to the negotiations, the drink maker’s parent company, Hater Holdings, Inc., is insisting that any naming rights deal also recognize Haterade as the Official Beverage of the Cherry Bomb Café. That, the sources noted, might be an even bigger change than renaming the stadium, since the Cherry Bomb has long been known for its signature drink, the Touchdown Tazer®.
What’s more, Corsairs owner Mojo D is listed in Hater Holdings’ official 10-K filing as the company’s largest shareholder. In a crowning irony, any new naming rights deal would put the name of Mojo D’s product on the stadium that once belonged to a hated rival whom, according to rumors, the Corsairs’ owner once tried to assassinate.
Cheatham could not be reached Thursday night by phone but responded to questions via email, saying that no agreement had been reached. “Everything’s still on the table, except for what’s under the table and two or three things that stuck on the wall,” Cheatham said.
Devlin Redd, longtime head bartender at the Cherry Bomb, told FSN that he had been asked to “come up with some Haterade drink recipes, just in case. So far,” he added, “I’ve got the Haterita, the Hatini and the Blind Hate, which would combine Haterade with licensed, artisan moonshine. It’s the only drink I’ve ever seen that will take hair OFF your chest.”
Late Thursday, FSN learned that new team CEO Bill Cheatham, representing the BakerBackers ownership group, is nearing agreement on a sponsorship deal that would rechristen Grey Goose Stadium as Haterade Coliseum.
According to two sources close to the negotiations, the drink maker’s parent company, Hater Holdings, Inc., is insisting that any naming rights deal also recognize Haterade as the Official Beverage of the Cherry Bomb Café. That, the sources noted, might be an even bigger change than renaming the stadium, since the Cherry Bomb has long been known for its signature drink, the Touchdown Tazer®.
What’s more, Corsairs owner Mojo D is listed in Hater Holdings’ official 10-K filing as the company’s largest shareholder. In a crowning irony, any new naming rights deal would put the name of Mojo D’s product on the stadium that once belonged to a hated rival whom, according to rumors, the Corsairs’ owner once tried to assassinate.
Cheatham could not be reached Thursday night by phone but responded to questions via email, saying that no agreement had been reached. “Everything’s still on the table, except for what’s under the table and two or three things that stuck on the wall,” Cheatham said.
Devlin Redd, longtime head bartender at the Cherry Bomb, told FSN that he had been asked to “come up with some Haterade drink recipes, just in case. So far,” he added, “I’ve got the Haterita, the Hatini and the Blind Hate, which would combine Haterade with licensed, artisan moonshine. It’s the only drink I’ve ever seen that will take hair OFF your chest.”
