http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/c...1480.story

What do you think? I don't ever see myself calling it Willis...

No one will adopt the name. Its too ingrained.

I will say, the buildings owners must REALLY be desperate for tenants if they are giving naming rights away over 140,000 sq feet (thats like what, a couple floors?) at $14 a square foot. For some comparison, Aon averages around $20 sq ft.

(03-13-2009 11:33 AM)niuhuskie84 Wrote:  No one will adopt the name. Its too ingrained.

I will say, the buildings owners must REALLY be desperate for tenants if they are giving naming rights away over 140,000 sq feet (thats like what, a couple floors?) at $14 a square foot. For some comparison, Aon averages around $20 sq ft.

I think that little kids who may not know it as Sears Tower may grow up calling it that and since it is its official name, newspapers and magazines will call it the new name(unless it is a story of the past history where both names will be included).

(03-13-2009 11:46 AM)RobertN Wrote:  

(03-13-2009 11:33 AM)niuhuskie84 Wrote:  No one will adopt the name. Its too ingrained.

I will say, the buildings owners must REALLY be desperate for tenants if they are giving naming rights away over 140,000 sq feet (thats like what, a couple floors?) at $14 a square foot. For some comparison, Aon averages around $20 sq ft.

I think that little kids who may not know it as Sears Tower may grow up calling it that and since it is its official name, newspapers and magazines will call it the new name(unless it is a story of the past history where both names will be included).

For official purposes, yea the new name will be used. But like you said, it will take at least a generation for the popular lexicon to change. And in all likelihood, Willis won't even be around that long.

Even now, people still call Aon "the Standard Oil Building" and US Celluar "Comiskey". This will be no different.

What you talkin' about, Willis?

You guys have nothing to worry about. With the way corporations are so damn criminal these days, I'm sure that someone will unlock the Willis' closet and find all sorts of things. Then, when they are booted out of business, what will we call the building? Gee, maybe we can change the name every few years to the next criminal - er, I mean corporate - tenant!

Willis has a total of 3 - count 'em 3 - floors in the entire building. And that's enough to name the building for them? Why not name it for a janitor who cleans a heck of a lot more floors than 3!

As long as I live, it will be Sears Tower to me. Not that I have a dedication to any corporation (unless they own the building), but I just don't like changing building or street names everytime a corporate honcho farts.

Did Bruce purchase it to remake Towering Inferno2?

There will be no OJ return cameo in #2.

Im just worried that it will be referred to as Big Willy too much, that seems like it will be overused in that way and that will get old fast!

Nobody will call it Willis Tower. Nobody. I guess they were desperate to do something. The primary tenants in Sears Tower are a couple major law firms in Latham & Watkins and Sonnenschein. Liberty Mutual Insurance also occupies a fair amount of space. Beyond that it is a hodgepodge of tenants.

Sears vacated the Sears Tower 15 plus years ago. There's a legitimate question whether Sears will be able to stay in business. They've been teetering on the brink of extinction for awhile.

I could care less what a building is called, i just find it funny everybody, not really on this board, but in other places freaking out and getting angry because they are changing the name

(03-15-2009 07:56 PM)niutbbucfan Wrote:  I could care less what a building is called, i just find it funny everybody, not really on this board, but in other places freaking out and getting angry because they are changing the name

Kinda like how certain fans of a certain baseball team reacted when it was announced that said team might be looking to sell the naming rights to its baseball stadium?

exactly, its just a name

(03-15-2009 08:05 PM)BarsemaBone Wrote:  

(03-15-2009 07:56 PM)niutbbucfan Wrote:  I could care less what a building is called, i just find it funny everybody, not really on this board, but in other places freaking out and getting angry because they are changing the name

Kinda like how certain fans of a certain baseball team reacted when it was announced that said team might be looking to sell the naming rights to its baseball stadium?

I heard Wrigly might be renamed the Blue Oyster but that is just rumor at this point.

99.8% of fans could care less the naming rights attached to sports stadium. I'm a diehard Cubs fan and have been so for over 30 years. If new owner Tom Ricketts wants to sell the naming rights to Wrigley then I could care less.