Cheese Whiz: Kraft Sponsors Stadium Blow-Up

Cheese Whiz: Kraft Sponsors Stadium Blow-Up

by David Goetzl, Yesterday, 5:14 PM

Talk about an explosion in marketing messages. Kraft is sponsoring the implosion of the famed Texas Stadium -- now slated for April 11 -- as it looks to plug a new version of its Mac & Cheese brand.

With the Dallas Cowboys having vacated the historic venue, the Irving, Texas city council has a $150,000 arrangement with Kraft for naming rights on the stadium's destruction.

Companies have placed their names on stadiums for years, such as the American Airlines Center in nearby Dallas, but this is believed to be a first time for an implosion.

Irving is not profiting from the agreement directly. Kraft is donating $75,000 to local charities, as well as various products valued at the same figure to local nonprofits.

Kraft is branding the process a "Cheddar Explosion" with an essay contest to select a young person to press the button.

Irving is broadcasting the $5.8 million cratering process on the Internet, which will include two cameras located inside the stadium that will go down with the walls.

The Cowboys played in the Irving stadium with a gigantic hole in the roof for 37 years. This season, the Cowboys moved into a stadium nearby that still does not have a naming partner.