McDonald's disclosed Tuesday it will name the Chicago Fire's new stadium opening in 2028, the first naming-rights package in the company's 71-year history. The University of Colorado began exploring naming rights for Folsom Field, and North Carolina State opened a process for Carter-Finley Stadium. Three announcements in two weeks from operators who've kept their venue names sponsor-free for decades.
McDonald's Park will anchor The 78, a $7 billion mixed-use development on 62 acres along the Chicago River south of downtown. The Fire currently play at Soldier Field under a lease expiring after the 2025 season. McDonald's relocated its headquarters back to Chicago from suburban Oak Brook in 2018, occupying the renovated Fulton Market building where executives now sit nine miles north of the new stadium site. The company did not disclose deal terms or duration. Chicago-based Intersport brokered the agreement. Joe Mansueto, Fire owner since 2019 and founder of Morningstar, paid $400 million for the club when previous owner Andrew Hauptman sold after a decade of declining attendance and one playoff appearance.
Colorado's Folsom Field opened in 1924 and seats 50,183. Athletic director Rick George told the Daily Camera the department is "exploring all options" for new revenue after the Buffaloes' move to the Big 12 triggered contract renegotiations with Fox Sports and ESPN. The school carries $173 million in athletic department debt, mostly stadium renovation bonds issued in 2014 and refinanced in 2021. Deion Sanders' arrival in 2023 lifted ticket revenue 41% in his first season, but the department still reported a $7.9 million operating deficit in fiscal 2024. George did not name an advisor or expected close date.
NC State's Carter-Finley Stadium opened in 1966 and holds 57,583. The school announced December 30 it has retained Legends Global Partnerships to find a naming-rights sponsor, targeting agreements that could bundle the football venue with Reynolds Coliseum or other campus assets. North Carolina's public-university system prohibits naming academic buildings after corporations, but the Board of Governors amended its policy in 2021 to allow athletic facility sponsorships. The Wolfpack generated $27 million in ticket revenue in fiscal 2023 and carry $31 million in outstanding bonds against Carter-Finley and adjacent practice facilities. Legends declined to provide a timeline or target valuation.
The three processes arrive as college athletic departments face $2.8 billion in annual revenue-sharing obligations starting July 2025 under the House v. NCAA settlement terms, and as FIFA's clean-stadium policy for the 2026 World Cup forces 16 U.S. venues to strip existing naming rights during the tournament. MetLife Stadium will revert to its geographic name for World Cup matches despite a $400 million, 25-year deal with the insurer that runs through 2035. SoFi Stadium, Allegiant Stadium, and AT&T Stadium face the same temporary rebrand. Venue operators are using the forced hiatus to test whether corporate partners will pay incremental fees for reinstatement campaigns when branded signage returns in July 2026, creating a 16-stadium repricing event inside 12 months.
McDonald's has purchased MLB, NBA, and Olympic sponsorships but avoided permanent venue naming. The Chicago deal suggests the company views a neighborhood-anchor site differently from a pure signage buy. The 78 development includes 10,000 residential units, 2 million square feet of office space, and 1.5 million square feet of retail and hospitality, all unbuilt. McDonald's branding will appear on a stadium rising alongside the company's highest-density customer base—downtown Chicago moves 500,000 daily pedestrians within 15 blocks of the site. The Fire averaged 17,383 fans per home match in 2024, ranking 18th in MLS's 29 teams.
Colorado and NC State are working different economics. Both schools already control their venue identities and would add sponsorship dollars without surrendering equity. Folsom Field sits on campus in Boulder, enrollment 37,000, inside a metro area of 330,000 people. Carter-Finley sits in Raleigh, metro population 1.5 million, where North Carolina controls three of the state's four largest public universities and competes with Duke for corporate partnerships. Both schools sell 50,000-plus seats eight Saturdays per year and must now price the value of painting a logo on grass-level signage visible 16 hours annually on national broadcasts.
Intersport also brokered SoFi's $400 million naming deal in 2019 and Allegiant's $20-25 million annually in 2022. Legends holds naming-rights mandates at 48 venues globally and closed University of Houston's $40 million, 10-year deal with Fertitta Entertainment in 2023. Both firms are pitching corporate buyers on campus venues as the last sponsorship category where inventory remains underpriced relative to professional comparables.
Watch whether Colorado bundles Folsom with Deion Sanders' media rights, creating a naming package that includes coach appearances and branded content distribution. NC State's Legends mandate includes Reynolds Coliseum, opening a dual-venue structure Legends used at Houston. McDonald's has not disclosed whether the Chicago deal includes activation rights at Fire training facilities or The 78's retail components. The Fire begin their final Soldier Field season in March.
The takeaway
Three historically unsponsored venues opening naming processes in two weeks prices the college and MLS venue inventory corporate sponsors avoided for 30 years.
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