Kentucky's Kroger Field was briefly 'Roger Field,' so UK invited all Rogers

Talk about thinking on your feet.

Kentucky’s football stadium is in the process of transitioning from Commonwealth Stadium to the newly named Kroger Field, as part of a corporate sponsorship with the grocery store chain. However, when the new name was being put on the outside of the stadium this week, there was a bit of a hiccup with the letters.

Apparently the workers putting them up to spell out “Kroger Field” worked from the end of the sign to the beginning. But at the end of the day Tuesday, the sign wasn’t finished, leaving just “Roger Field” on the front of the stadium for all to see on Wednesday morning. Kentucky’s Deputy Director of Athletics Dewayne Peevy made lemons into lemonade by turning this into a promotional opportunity. He decided to allow all those named Roger to come to the stadium and get free tickets to UK’s Week 2 game against Eastern Kentucky.

By 10 a.m. on Wednesday, he had given out nine free tickets, one taken by someone who had the first name Roger, and eight with the last name Rogers.

The University of Kentucky announced a naming partnership with the grocery store chain in early May.

This newest pact will infuse funds into capital projects like improved facilities instead of increasing player compensation. The agreement will pay the school $1.85 million annually for 12 years.

As my colleague Richard Johnson (accurately, in my opinion) pointed out, Kentucky should have waited it out for the superior southern grocery store, which is in fact Publix. But Kroger Field is now the stadium’s name, surviving a brief day of being just Roger Field. Shoutout to Peevy for the quick, creative thinking.