Ahead of the 25th season of their ballpark, the Houston Astros agreed to a 15-year exclusive stadium naming rights deal with Daikin, supplanting Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid as the naming rights sponsor. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Daikin Park will be the name of the retractable roof stadium that opened in 2000 to replace the Astrodome, the first-ever domed sports stadium that is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Founded in 1924 in Osaka, Japan, Daikin is the world’s biggest manufacturer of air conditioners. It also produces medical equipment and hydraulic systems. The Fortune 1000 company opened its North American division in 2004, with its continental headquarters in downtown Houston.
“Daikin is an international company that proudly calls the Greater Houston area its North American home,” said team owner and chairman Jim Crane in a statement.
“As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of this ballpark in 2025, I am proud to have Daikin alongside us to create even more special memories for our fans now and in the future.”
Daikin Park originally opened as Enron Field after the energy trading firm signed a 30-year, $100 million pact with the team. However, the company was embroiled in one of the biggest accounting scandals in U.S. history and went bankrupt in 2001.
After a legal tussle to sever the naming rights deal, the Astros settled with Enron—paying the beleaguered company $2.1 million in the process—and signed a new deal with Minute Maid, which is based in Houston. The deal with the orange juice brand was also reportedly for $100 million over a 30-year period.
Though the naming rights pact with Minute Maid has ended several years early, the brand will be a partner with the Astros through 2029.
“We want to thank Minute Maid and The Coca-Cola Company for their longstanding commitment to our ballpark,” Crane said.
“Minute Maid came on board at a very critical time in our history and we are thrilled they will continue to remain a partner of the Astros for many years to come.”
Even with the sign-stealing controversy that shrouded its 2017 World Series win, Houston remains one of the better franchises in MLB. The Astros have made the playoffs for eight straight years, including four trips to the Fall Classic (two wins) and seven consecutive appearances in the ALCS—a streak that was broken this past October when they lost to the Detroit Tigers in the Wild-Card round.
Valued at $3.21 billion, the Astros rank seventh in Sportico’s MLB franchise valuations. In 2011, Crane purchased the franchise from Drayton McLane for $615 million, a discounted price after Crane was given a $70 million “concession” by MLB for agreeing to move the franchise to the American League as part of MLB’s divisional realignment. The Astros had played in the National League since beginning play in 1962 as the Colt .45s.
The team generated $544 million in revenue in 2023, which ranked fourth in the league behind the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. Revenue grew by 13% versus the 2022 campaign that ended with Houston’s second World Series title.
