Naming Rights

If the Ravens want to wait, they can wait. If they want to lose revenue, they can lose revenue. If they want to find a "presenting sponsor" to cough up $7 million a year, they can keep knocking on corporate doors into the 21st century, and it will be their problem.We'll call the stadium whatever we'd like.We'll call it Camden Yards.That's right, Camden Yards, the name with the greatest brand value in sports today, the name that stuck after former Orioles owner Eli Jacobs tried to jam "Oriole Park" down our throats, the name that Ravens owner Art Modell can never take away.

Following a trend popularized by sports stadiums, Howard County officials are considering selling the names of 60 local parks to big corporations -- an idea sure to generate controversy as well as revenue.Would Ellicott City's Centennial Park become the Coca Cola Recreational Area? Or would Pepsi pay more? County-sponsored research shows there's real money to be made from such commercial relationships."If it's done on the up and up, I think it's a win-win situation," says Gary J. Arthur, director of the Department of Recreation and Parks.