Field at Dodger Stadium gets a sponsor name for first time in history of MLB’s third-oldest ballpark
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The field at Dodger Stadium has a sponsor name for the first time in the history of the third-oldest ballpark in the major leagues.
Uniqlo Field was unveiled Wednesday on the eve of the Los Angeles Dodgers opening their bid for a third straight World Series championship. They begin the season Thursday by hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks in the start of a three-game series.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the star of World Series Game 7, starts for the Dodgers. He is among three Japanese stars on the team, along with Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki.
“Every one of us has become fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers because of the outstanding performances of Japanese players,” company founder Tadashi Lanai said through a translator.
Uniqlo is a Japan-based apparel retailer with over 2,400 stores, including a strong presence in its home country, Asia, Europe and Canada. It has nearly 80 U.S. stores, primarily in malls, with aggressive expansion plans.
It’s the first major sports sponsorship for Uniqlo in the U.S., and took nearly a year to negotiate, according to Koji Lanai, senior executive officer for Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo. He is the son of Tadashi Lanai, known as Japan’s richest man with a net worth of nearly $62 billion.
The deal places Uniqlo’s red-and-white signage in various locations around the stadium, including the batter’s eye in center field, on the facade beneath the press box and on the grass along the baselines.
“I hope in the near future fans will like it and love it,” Koji Lanai said.
A Japanese reporter asked whether a batter would get anything for hitting the sign in center field. The Dodgers famously at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn had a sign under the scoreboard on the right-center field wall from 1931-57 that read: “Hit sign, win suit.” The ad was placed by Abe Stark, a clothing store owner who went on to become Brooklyn Borough President.
“It’s a very good idea I was just given,” Koji Lanai said through a translator.
Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten added, “We like that idea, too.”
Tadashi Lanai said providing Dodgers players with clothing is “not that easy” because of conflicting sponsorship deals. “But probably we can provide them with everyday clothing,” he said through a translator.
Kasten piped up, saying, “We pay them enough to shop at Uniqlo stores.”
Dodgers fans are used to seeing the names of Japanese sponsors like Tokyo Electron, All Nippon Airways and Yakult in the outfield. The team has catered to Asian fans in particular since the arrival of Ohtani before the 2024 season.
“I’ve been thrilled with the reaction I got from fans,” Kasten said.
The Dodgers presented Tadashi Lanai with a home plate signed by the players in what Kasten called a symbol of the retailer’s new home.
Among the retailer’s plans at the stadium, which opened in 1962, is a special corner inside team apparel stores and a June 21 event in which fans will receive an item of LifeWear clothing. A social contribution program launches in late May.
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