Nissan chairman: We're paying big bucks to endorse Tennessee, not just Titans - Nashville Business Journal (blog)
But Munoz's desire to watch a football game (or, say, a Rolling Stones concert) at Nissan Stadium is really about his desire to stamp Nashville into Nissan's branding — a pricey proclamation of how invaluable Middle Tennessee has become to... Forget whatever amount Nissan is paying for the naming rights (neither the team nor the company will say). Focus on the length of the deal : Two decades, lasting even beyond the end of the Titans' initial lease for the city-owned stadium. Several other NFL stadiums, including those in Phoenix, Charlotte and Indianapolis , have naming-rights deals of the same length as Nissan's with the Titans. Basically, it is like we will be here forever," Munoz told me. "When it comes to deciding where we want to grow and invest, Tennessee always comes first," Munoz said. NIssan's North American headquarters opened in Franklin in 2006. That same year was the last time the Titans signed a naming-rights deal, with Louisiana-Pacific Corp. That tally is Nissan's Middle Tennessee headcount today — double the roster from mid-2011, as the automotive industry was staggering back to life after the recession sent car sales into a tailspin. Nissan is Middle Tennessee's second-largest private employer, after Vanderbilt University. Nissan's Franklin headquarters and its Smyrna manufacturing plant are 18 miles and 27 miles,. Source: www.bizjournals.com
