With the pending bankruptcy of Sports Authority, the Broncos are going to be without a naming-rights partner for Mile High Stadium (and recently filed a request to end the naming agreement after Sports Authority missed multiple payments). And, likely to the delight of everyone at the NFL offices, another marijuana dispensary wants in on the naming rights.
O.penVAPE, a company that specializes in "custom vape pens" and calls itself "the leading brand in cannabis and offers the best vaporizing pens on the market" issued a press release expressing interest in garnering the naming rights for Mile High.
They want to create O.penVAPE at Mile High, which would easily be the greatest stadium name in NFL history and finally bring the full BASEketball prediction of naming rights to fruition.
O.penVAPE at Mile High would be quite a stadium name.
O.penVAPE (YouTube.com)"We're a rapidly growing global business, and we see the opportunity to align two iconic winning Colorado brands to reflect our state's pioneering spirit and heritage," O.penVAPE COO Jeremy Heidl said. "Our company produces much more than innovative vape pens, and we intend to drive awareness around the use of CBD products as an alternative treatment for pain and other medical conditions, an issue specifically relevant to the NFL."
They even designed what the stadium would look like!
Back in April, Native Roots announced its interest in paying for the rights to put its name on the stadium, so it's not like these guys came up with the original idea to put a marijuana-related company name on a stadium.
Being first isn't always the most important though (just ask the makers of the Slanket, the original blanket with sleeves that was quickly smothered and buried by the far more marketable Snuggie), it's about being the most intelligently branded option.
Of course, none of this may matter given how difficult it is to imagine the NFL and the Broncos playing ball with a company that -- while legal -- still skirts the bounds of being socially acceptable.
