SEATTLE -- While the Mariners say they can't finalize a new naming rights contract for their ballpark until a new lease agreement is approved sometime before the end of the year, it appears T-Mobile is the frontrunner to replace Safeco as the stadium sponsor, according to a Forbes report released Thursday.
Safeco's 20-year contract expires on Dec. 31 and the club has already taken down one Safeco sign on the south side of the park in order to promote an "Enchant" Christmas event that will be held at the park from Nov. 23 through Dec. 30.
The rest of the Safeco signs are still intact, however, including on the main rotunda that greets fans at the home-plate entrance. Those signs eventually will be replaced as the stadium prepares to take on its first name change since opening as Safeco Field on July 15, 1999.
The Mariners haven't confirmed T-Mobile will be the new sponsor and said no announcement will be made until a new lease agreement is formally approved by the Public Facilities District that runs the stadium, which is expected to happen sometime in December.
"We do not have an agreement with a naming rights partner," said Rebecca Hale, the Mariners director of public information. "We are not able to finalize an agreement until after the PFD has given their final approval to our lease.
"We have an agreement in terms on the lease, but are now finalizing the official language. That's been going on for several weeks, and we're very hopeful that final agreement happens sometime soon. Then we can finalize any agreement for a naming rights partner."
T-Mobile certainly would fit the profile for a naming-rights sponsor as the communications company's corporate headquarters are in nearby Bellevue, Wash. The company already has naming rights for T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Forbes reported the sponsorship would cost T-Mobile about $3 million annually, though the length and total value of the deal are not yet known.