posted by Joe Polk at 12:58 AM /
Upper St. Clair is considering it. Baldwin has already done it. North Catholic will be doing it next year.
The question is -- should Mt. Lebanon consider getting corporate sponsorship for our school facilities, events, etc.? A good way to raise money for our district? Or a bad idea overall?
Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08052/859032-55.stm
The question is -- should Mt. Lebanon consider getting corporate sponsorship for our school facilities, events, etc.? A good way to raise money for our district? Or a bad idea overall?
Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08052/859032-55.stm
Labels: advertisement, fundraising, school district
7 Comments:
I personally don't like it at all. I'd much prefer the names of our local places to be representative of the community in which we live, not the corporations who had the deepest pockets.
Places should be named after models of society; Bird Park is named after Lt. Thomas Bird, Jr. The Dixon Playground is named after Martha Dixon. Even our schools are named after former presidents. Wouldn't it just cheapen the experience to have the "Dick's Sporting Goods playground"?
It's not just Mt. Lebanon either. It's a nationwide phenomenon. Out goes "Mile-High Stadium", in comes Invesco Field. Out goes "Three Rivers Stadium", in comes "Heinz Field."
A large corporation spending money on advertising does not and should not represent who and what a city is. Corporate sponsorship robs us all of our own self-identity.
Matthew I agree with everything you've said 100%. I will admit though that the thought of cash inflow to help maintain/upgrade local venues is tempting. Then again if we look around at our various fields/parks/facilities they seem to be doing just fine without corp. sponsorship. e.g., I think of us as already having very good facilities. Could some be improved? Sure. I'm in agreement the gate shouldn't be opened to turn Mt. Lebanon into the land of corp sponsorship.
Someone who knows Mt. Lebanon history and/or zoning history might be able to add their knowledge here. Ever notice how there are no fast food places within the township? (They are on the borders in Scott and Castle Shannon). Something sticks in my head as a "native" that this is not by mere coincidence (I could be wrong) and was more about keeping a certain look/feel to the township (ala big corp. golden arches signs) versus not liking fast food. If there was something like this then wouldn't the same community zoning "values" play a role in whether parks/playing fields go corporate?
What about local sponsorship...I think there is a Bado's score board at Jefferson field? I don't see that as the same because its a local business and we all love Bados!
First, comparing professional sports venues with local municipalities is not apples to apples. For one, the dollars are far more significant (approx. $2-5 million annually depending on the market). Also, there is generally a strong tie between the naming rights partner and the city in which they choose to fly their banner (Heinz, PNC and Mellon in Pittsburgh; Prudential in Newark; Gillette in Boston; B of A in Charlotte; Coors in Denver; Busch in St. Louis; etc). These companies believe it is important to play a visible role in the development (or re-development) of their home city. That connection doesn't really exist on a municipal level. Therefore, these more local corporate sponsorships tend to rely heavily on signage rather than true naming.
Let's face it - no one who has lived in Mt. Lebanon for any period of time will start calling the pool, the ice rink, the tennis courts or Wildcat Field by any other name. There's simply no need. Plus, there's no external advertising involved.
However, if an appropriate corporate partner wants to pay $25-100,000/year for the exclusive rights to install signage at these locations, I'm okay with it. Done tastefully, corporate sponsorships are a great way to fund a portion of new construction and/or offset the cost of long-term maintenance.
Using Cranberry's recent naming rights deal with Dick's as an example, I think our baseball field complex on Cedar Blvd or the tennis center would have benefited quite nicely from the $100,000/year. And I don't think that a couple of Dick's green signs on the scoreboard or outfield fence would reduce or cheapen the experience.
I tend to agree. But should there be a move to follow the money - any funds generated should be directed to the general fund of the schools or municipality - no strings attached, not "earmarked" for special a purpose. Money chasing can get very political.
Based on the sequencing of the posts - it looks like I am in agreement with Mr. Franklin - not today. I was agreeing with Matthew. We don't need this kind of visual pollution in our parks, or pool or tennis courts.
I'm not sure that a 6' x 6' sign attached to a scoreboard or a fence at a ballfield is "visual pollution".
Certainly no worse than the box drug stores that have popped up on nearly every corner.
Ironically, the funds raised through corporate sponsorships would actually be used to IMPROVE the quality and appearance of our fields and other recreational facilities, many of which are in dire need of a makeover.
The topic of corporate sponsorship is very timely for Mt. Lebo schools and your comments are very helpful. I was the policy committee chair of the school board for the past 4 years and we've been working on draft policies that include partnerships & sponsorships in addition to reviews of naming rights, advertising in schools and donations/gifts.
We started working on these in December of 2006. I personally believe that the parameters of what is acceptable in our community must be set first and the encouragement of revenue must be second. Consistency is key. It has been a very challenging discussion over the past year and I am hopeful that the Board can put something in place before we make high school renovations/construction decisions.
Faith Stipanovich is the school board policy chair this year and it is probable that she will keep these drafts on the agenda. So, you can always follow up on the progress--policy meetings are open to the public. I also will encourage the committee to post the drafts on the website (policy section) when they are nearing completion.
Thanks for everyone's thoughts.
Sue Rose
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