Mets Get New Naming Partner

Relax. Citi isn't going anywhere -- as far as the Mets are concerned at least. We're talking the Mets' Spring Training home stadium in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The New York Mets and Digital Domain Holdings yesterday announced a new eight year partnership that will replace Core Communities, which according to the New York Times owes the Mets tens of thousands of dollars in late sponsorship payments, with the Venice, Ca.-based visual effects production studio.

The new partnership with Digital Domain will give the company naming rights to the Spring Training home of the Mets and the organization's minor-league affiliates in Port St. Lucie as well as digital signage at Citi Field where the company will have programming on CitiVision and interactive kiosks around the ballpark showcasing its visual effects.

"We view our new partnership with Digital Domain Holdings as revolutionary for our organization, allowing us to work with some of the most creative and innovative minds in entertainment to develop new ways to engage our fans in Florida and New York," said Dave Howard, Executive Vice President, Business Operations, New York Mets.

Core Communities existing deal was set to expire in 2014, but the company reportedly owes $95,769.17 in sponsorship payments to the county, which owns the stadium.

“They’re in pretty bad shape financially,” Dan McIntyre, the attorney for St. Lucie County, told the NY Times of Core Communities. “The fact that they haven’t paid suggests that they’re not going to.”

In January, the Mets sued SpongeTech after claiming the sponge-maker had issued the team $400,000 in bounced checks.