(FORTUNE Magazine) – When Citizens Bank signed a $95 million, 25-year deal to put its name on the new home of the Philadelphia Phillies, slated to open in April, the company bought a lot more than big signs and guaranteed mentions on the radio. The bank also scored seats on the team plane for its best customers, private tours of the dugout and locker room, and its logo on Phillies tickets, stationery, and staff uniforms. "There's a lot of uniqueness to this deal," says Stephen D. Steinour, the bank's chairman and CEO. "We thought about things that would be valuable to us, and we just kept asking."

But why on earth would the Phillies put up with such indignities as suits tromping through the dugout? From the looks of it, the Phillies were receptive because so many stadium-naming deals stopped producing cash after their high-rolling sponsors fell on hard times. (Need we say more than Enron Field, PSINet Stadium, and CMGI Stadium?) At least Citizens, a $22 billion bank owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, won't go bust anytime soon. And lest fans think the Phillies totally sold out, we're assured that the shower area is still off-limits.

--Marc Gunther