Jets And Giants End Naming Rights Deal

The New York Giants and Jets have canceled negotiations on stadium naming rights with a German insurance company that once had ties to the Nazis.

Allianz had been seeking a deal to put its name on the stadium being built by both teams in the Meadowlands.

The deal could have been worth an estimated $30 million a year.

The stadium is scheduled to be completed for the 2010 season.

Allianz once insured Nazi death camps and refused to pay life insurance claims to its Jewish clients – instead granting the proceeds to the Nazis.

The proposed deal was criticized by Jewish organizations, Holocaust survivors and football fans who said seeing the company’s name emblazoned on the stadium would be a constant reminder of the company’s ties to the Holocaust.

The New Meadowlands Stadium Llc, the company building the stadium, issued a statement Friday saying they were no longer in discussions with Allianz for a naming rights partnership. Allianz spokesman Peter Lefkin confirmed that talks were off.

Allianz officials argued the company had atoned for its former support of the Third Reich by supporting reparations programs and working to become a responsible company.

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, which had criticized the proposed naming of the stadium, applauded the cancellation of talks.

“The decision shows sensitivity to the fact that the greater New York area is home to a large number of Holocaust survivors and their families and World War II veterans, who live with the painful memories of that time,” he said in a statement.