Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners are poised to sell the naming rights to what is currently called Safeco Field to the US division of mobile operator T-Mobile, according to a report in Forbes.
T-Mobile US is based in Bellevue, Washington, in the Seattle metropolitan area.
Forbes said in the report: “T-Mobile will be the new naming rights partner of the Mariners beginning in 2019 according to sources that spoke on background due to the sensitive nature of the deal. While initially, the rights were rumored to be $6m annually, other sources now indicate that it will be closer to $3m annually.”
Safeco Insurance acquired the naming rights in a 20-year, $40m agreement in 1999.
The company, which was bought out by Liberty Mutual in 2008, said in 2017 it would not renew its naming rights deal after the 2018 season.