Document text
February 02. 2016 12:01AM Since You Asked: Moda isn't the first arena namesake to hit hard times I saw on the news last week that Moda Health Plans is being required by the Oregon Insurance Division to raise capital or reduce its operations. Isn't this the same company that spent millions to rename the Rose Garden just a couple of years ago? — Max H., Talent Moda Health Plans, the former ODS Health which traces its roots back to the Oregon Dental Society, took a swing at the big time in August 2013 when it acquired the naming rights to the Rose Garden from the Trail Blazers. Although there was no official figure attached to the 10-year deal, various media organizations reported it was good for $4 million per year, or $40 million overall. That's a lot of marketing dollars, but then there were a lot of health care marketing dollars flying around in 2013 in the ramp-up to the Affordable Care Act-inspired Cover Oregon venture, which didn't end so well. The state says Moda is experiencing significant financial difficulties, with a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services saying the health insurance company's "condition had deteriorated pretty significantly in the fourth quarter of 2015." The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation put the company into "supervision," meaning all business decisions will have to cleared by state officials, and the state has required it to come up with a new business plan. There is a long list of companies that bought stadium or arena naming rights before running into the financial deeps. The most famous is Enron Field in Houston, where the once stratospheric energy company bought the rights to present-day Minute Maid Park before its monumental collapse. Adelphia Coliseum was the home of the Tennessee Titans before that company went bankrupt, and the Baltimore Ravens once played in PSINet Stadium. Then there was the Trans World Dome in St. Louis where the Rams played before the legacy airline was permanently grounded. Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160202/NEWS/160209990 © 2016 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->