Titans? stadium renamed ?LP Field? for $30 million

The neon blue letters that spelled out ?Coliseum? on either side of the Tennessee Titans? stadium are gone. Now a banner proclaims the new name as LP Field until new signs are ready.

The Titans? nearly four-year wait for a new naming rights deal for their stadium ended Tuesday with the announcement of a 10-year, $30 million deal with Louisiana-Pacific Corp.

?Our relationship is going to be … a very great one,? Titans owner Bud Adams said.

The negotiations started eight months ago, and the Titans approached the company after other attempts over the past four years had fallen through.

The Titans had been without a naming rights deal since Adelphia Business Solutions, which had its name on the stadium since it opened in 1999, filed for bankruptcy in mid-2002 and stopped payments on its 15-year, $30 million deal. Adelphia Coliseum was known simply as The Coliseum after that.

But Tennessee now has a new deal with a building products company that relocated its headquarters from Portland, Ore., to Nashville in 2004 and is trying to promote itself and its brand as LP. The company?s headquarters are in a building across the Cumberland River from the stadium.

Rick Frost, chief executive officer of the building products company, said employees immediately thought putting the name on the Titans? stadium would be good for the company?s reputation. But he called it a big move.

?We really hadn?t stepped out like this,? Frost said. ?But they convinced us it was time, it was time for us to have a centerpiece to our marketing activities and to cement our relationship with the city of Nashville, which we did choose to make our headquarters,? Frost said.

The company and the Titans also announced they will work together to build a Habitat for Humanity house in Nashville. The company had 10 trailers in the parking lot as part of a display for its commitment to build Habitat homes in each of the 10 cities where the Titans will play this season.

Frost said the name Louisiana-Pacific doesn?t really fit anymore with a company doing business nationwide.

?About four, five years ago, we changed all of our communication efforts to LP. But it was catching on only in our industry, with our customers. This gives us a huge opportunity to quit writing Louisiana-Pacific and just say LP,? Frost said.

The logo features a blue background with the white letters ?LP? and an orange band across the bottom with screws and the word ?FIELD? also in white.

Frost said he wasn?t deterred by pairing with a franchise that has gone 5-11 and 4-12 the past two seasons. He called himself a big fan of the Titans? top draft pick, Vince Young.

Coach Jeff Fisher interrupted his vacation to take part in the unveiling of the new name and logo. He said the new name coincides nicely with the Titans finally at a point where they can spend money and have lured in key free agents.

?LP has a nice ring to it. Used to be the Delph. Now I can say, ?I?m going over to the LP.? I think it?ll be catchy and catch on quickly,? Fisher said.