Sun Life Stadium - Naming Rights

Naming Rights

The stadium has gone through many name changes, bringing up the overall question of the value of corporate naming rights.

Initially, Dolphins Stadium was named after Joe Robbie, the original and then-owner of the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were the stadium's primary tenant at the time.

In the early 1990s, Wayne Huizenga gained control of the stadium. Huizenga first sold the naming rights to Pro Player, the sports apparel division of Fruit of the Loom, and Joe Robbie Stadium became Pro Player Stadium on August 26, 1996.

Fruit of the Loom filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1999, and the Pro Player brand was ultimately liquidated in 2001, but the stadium name held for several more years. In January 2005, the Pro Player name was replaced with Dolphins Stadium, coinciding with a renovation of the stadium. Dolphins was changed to Dolphin in April 2006, in an update of graphics and logos.

From February 2008 through January 2009, Stephen M. Ross gradually acquired 95% of the stadium and surrounding land. He then partnered with Jimmy Buffett to change the name once more, this time to Land Shark Stadium. The renaming was announced on May 9, 2009, but would last less than a year as the deal did not include rights for the upcoming 2010 Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLIV.

On January 20, 2010, the firm Sun Life Financial officially announced that they had acquired the naming rights, and the name of the stadium became Sun Life Stadium.

Sun Life Stadium may have yet another name within three years, as Sun Life Financial has announced it will not be selling life insurance in the United States anymore. It is expected that the Dolphins will be looking for a new naming rights partner.