Working Undercover

As U.S. stadiums prepare to host the World Cup starting — checks notes — today, most of them had to undergo a de-branding to remove any visuals or mentions of their naming rights partners, so places like SoFi Stadium, Lumen Field, and NRG Stadium will be renamed Los Angeles Stadium, Seattle Stadium, and Houston Stadium. A dozen stadiums had to conform to FIFA’s demand that all World Cup stadiums be free of references to corporations that aren’t FIFA sponsors. One stadium, however, didn’t lose too much equity thanks to its logo’s iconic holding shape that I don’t even have to name for you to know which one it is. (Special thanks to the family relative of long-time Brand New reader, Carlos Montalvan, for snapping the picture on the left as she volunteers for the event.)