CHS Scores Naming Rights to St. Paul Stadium

ST. PAUL, Minn. — CHS Inc., parent company of the Cenex fuel brand, purchased the naming rights to the $63-million St. Paul Saints ballpark stadium, according to a St. Paul Pioneer Press report. Currently under construction, CHS Field will hold 7,000 seats and is scheduled to open in May 2015.

"Let's say that it was the perfect fit," said Saints founder and co-owner Mike Veeck. "Every once in a while, you have a company whose culture states in their mission statement almost word for word what ours is."

While money played a large role in negotiations for the naming rights, it wasn't the only consideration, according to Saints co-owner Marvin Goldklang. He noted that CHS' reputation is based on "fun, family, farms," which is similar to the team's "Fun is Good!" trademarked marketing philosophy.

"Obviously, the dollars are important," Goldklang told the news outlet. "They have the three Fs — fun, family, farms. We've got two of them."

Financial terms of the naming rights agreement were not disclosed, but negotiations reportedly took a couple of months.

The new stadium should boost local name recognition of CHS, which is better known for its brands. The Saints' baseball region, which includes teams from the Midwest and the Great Plains, overlaps with CHS' business territory.

"People might not know what we do, but they'll at least recognize the name," said CHS President and CEO Carl Casale.

In the off-season, CHS will have access to the ballpark for promotional outreach to its member owners and employee use.

St. Paul-based CHS Inc. is a global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes the Cenex brand of refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.