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Arizona Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall was flabbergasted when the club's executive vice president of business operations, Tom Garfinkel, proposed hiring discount retailer Target to rebrand Chase Field, the team's 10-year-old ballpark. "I was shocked," Hall said. "My first question was, ‘Is the stadium going to look like their stores?'" Not quite. Garfinkel, a former Chip Ganassi Racing executive, knew the work Target Commercial Interiors, the company's in-house designer, did to plan the group's race shops in Concord, N.C., and Indianapolis. Target sponsors Ganassi's three drivers. Target Commercial Interiors "demonstrated they clearly understand design that is smart and functional and aesthetically pleasing at the same time," Garfinkel said. Still, tweaking a 10-year-old retractable roof stadium in downtown Phoenix was a different challenge. The task was a critical one for an MLB team aiming for brand consistency despite winning four division titles (including this season) and one World Series championship in its short history. The Diamondbacks' ultimate goal was to find a third party to design a cleaner, fresher look for their facility, reducing the marketing clutter while putting a focus on the team's new predominant color, Sedona red. -- Sports Business Journal

SportsBusinessJournal.com