PETA Media Center > Recent News Releases : Take Me Out to the...GoVeg.com Field?

PETA Asks to Rent Naming Rights to Nationals Park

For Immediate Release:
April 2, 2008

Contact:
Dan Shannon 757-622-7382

Washington - Peanuts and Crackerjacks will be right at home at Washington, D.C.'s new baseball stadium if PETA has its way--and so will vegetarian hot dogs. The animal rights group sent a letter to Washington Nationals President Stan Kasten asking to rent the right to call Nationals Park "GoVeg.com Field" until a permanent sponsor is found.

PETA believes that the name would be a good fit since PETA got its start some 28 years ago in Washington and the Nationals Park already features several vegetarian options for health-conscious and animal-friendly baseball fans. A vegetarian diet is also more eco-friendly than a meat-based diet, which is in line with attempts to minimize the stadium's impact on the environment.

"Encouraging Nationals fans to eat more vegetarian foods is a win-win-win proposition for the environment, animals, and fans," says PETA Assistant Director Dan Shannon. "Newly vegetarian sports fans will keep coming out to the ballgame long after their hotdog-chomping counterparts have succumbed to heart attacks, strokes, and cancer."

PETA's letter to Stan Kasten follows.

April 2, 2008

Stan Kasten, President
Washington Nationals

Dear Mr. Kasten:

On behalf of PETA and our more than 1.8 million members and supporters (including many in the D.C. area), I'm writing regarding recent media reports that you haven't yet found a corporate sponsor to purchase naming rights for Nationals Park. While PETA, as a charity, cannot afford this multimillion-dollar advertising opportunity, we would like to propose that you rent us the rights until you find a permanent sponsor. For that interim period, we would call the stadium GoVeg.com Field. See the proposed design (attached).

GoVeg.com Field would be an ideal new name for Nationals Park for many reasons. The stadium already offers a good selection of vegetarian food, such as a tasty new veggie burger. (Last year, the Nationals earned an honorable mention in our ranking of vegetarian-friendly ballparks.) The Nationals have been working hard to minimize the environmental impact of the new stadium, and promoting a vegetarian diet to fans fits perfectly with this goal (a recent United Nations report concluded that the meat industry causes almost 50 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, SUVs, planes, and ships in the world combined.) Of course, many fans who care about the environment also care about animals. And every vegetarian saves more than 100 animals each year from being abused, including by being intensively confined and having their throats slit while still conscious.

The Nationals want their fan base to be healthy. Because vegetarians are less prone to heart disease, obesity, and various types of cancer, vegetarian options will help them cheer on the Nationals for many seasons to come. Finally, the new stadium name would put the Nationals on the cutting edge of the growing trend toward vegetarianism among elite athletes--Prince Fielder, Salim Stoudamire, Tony Gonzalez, and Carl Lewis are just a few of the athletes who have ditched meat in favor of humane, healthy fare and testified that their performance has improved as a result.

Please contact me if you have any questions and to let me know your decision. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Dan Shannon
Assistant Director

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