As a baseball strike was averted last Friday, the San Francisco Giants were busy in another New York City venue — federal bankruptcy court — asking the judge in the Enron Corp. Chapter 11 proceedings to force the fallen Houston energy marketing machine to remove its tilted “E” logo from the baseball team’s Pacific Bell Park.

The Giants owners argued in a bankruptcy court filing that “Enron’s negative reputation alone” gave the ball club the right to cancel a 1998 sponsorship deal it signed with the bankrupt company, according to a business news report in the Los Angeles Times. “Negative reaction” from Giant fans has been experienced in response to the ongoing presence of a 17-by-33-foot center field scoreboard sign, the team said in a filing to the court.

A hearing has been set for Sept. 26 before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur J. Gonzalez in Manhattan, according to the news report.

Last February, the Houston Astros baseball team paid $2.1 million to buy back the naming rights for its Enron Field. Eventually, the ball team agreed to a $100 million, 28-year deal with Coca-Cola for renaming the stadium Minute Maid Park, which is obtaining new recognition as the Astros compete for a playoff spot in the National League.

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