Name change for Bank One Ballpark

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By Rich Draper / MLB.com

PHOENIX -- Don't look for the Diamondbacks' ballpark's name to be changed anytime soon.

Bank One Ballpark -- affectionately called the BOB -- will reportedly retain the same name despite an announcement Wednesday that Bank One Corp. has agreed to be acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in a $60 billion deal.

The Associated Press reported D-Backs owner Jerry Colangelo said, "permission would have to be sought to change the name and that's not in the cards. The commitment is a 30-year commitment."

Colangelo talked with Bank One officials, who told him the corporation has no intention of trying to change the name of the five-year-old ballpark.

Even the team's mascot is BOBcat.

Things could change, however. In San Francisco, the Giants had a 20-year marketing agreement with Pacific Bell for naming rights for the downtown park which opened in 1999. But SBC acquired the company and the name officially became SBC Park on Jan. 1.

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I was listening to a local late-night radio talk show, and the host did a list of possible new names for BOB.

#1 was "Matt Williams Memorial Ballpark"