Yet purely as a business decision, calling any new big-league sports team the Senators would be seen as ill-advised.

CNN: No one will ever name a sports team this way

The NFL is four years away from its 50th Super Bowl, which means it is already trying to plan around a peculiar self-inflicted marketing nuisance: How can the world's most powerful sports league get around putting a big, fat "L" on hundreds of thousands of souvenir T-shirts?

WSJ: Super Bowl L: The NFL Has an 'L' of a Problem in 2016

For too long the big sports leagues have allowed team owners to dodge league debt limits by excluding debt on stadiums in their calculations.

FORBES: Forgive Mark Cuban

For Mr. Chesney, a sports nut who hosts many top athletes backstage, stadium concerts help sustain a big-league aura.

WSJ: Kenny Chesney: King of the Road