I’ve given up on trying keeping track of arena/stadium names since it seems as though they change names with more frequency than a mob informant.  Some names are easy to say – Pac Bell Park (which is no longer its name), Wrigley Field, Citi Field (the new Mets stadium) while others are a mouthful (Network Associates Coliseum).  Sometimes the names get a nickname.  When it was named Molson Arena, Montrealers affectionately called it The Keg.  Enron Field, pre-scandal, was 10-Run Field for it’s reputation as a hitter-friendly park and when it was renamed Minute Maid Park, fans called it the Juice Box.  U.S. Cellular Field has never caught on with Sox fans so it’s called the Cell (which is appropriate for you rat-bastard felony-prone south-siders  ).

The Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the Utah Jazz play, has now been renamed Energy Solutions Arena.  The name sounds innocuous and rather boring…until you find out what exactly this company does.  Energy Solutions disposes of nuclear waste!!!

Of course the nickname suggestions are already flying.  I wish I could take credit for the list below, but I’m actually referring to an 11/29/06 article in the New York Times by Richard Sandomir.  KSL-TV in Salt Lake City had invited people to send in their nickname suggestions and the entries are quite amusing so far.

The Glow Bowl

The Isotope

The Dump

The ChernoBowl

JazzMat (short for Jazzardous Materials)

The Big Bang

The Tox Box

The Power House

The Hot Spot

The Fallout Shelter

The Melta Center

Radium Stadium

The bottom line for people who visit Energy Solutions Arena is to not accept any corporate freebies they try to give away.  Not unless you have a Geiger counter with you.

Of course, they’ve already got a huge head start of public awareness of their brand name now.  Kudos to them for that.  I sure wish they could partner with the Simpsons empire and have a whole promotional campaign based on the Springfield nuclear power plant.