Cleveland’s new Parks and Recreation Department needs money to keep up its parks and buildings. So it’s taking a page from the book of NASCAR racers and endowed university professorships by looking into sponsorship deals.
The Bibb administration wants to hire the Superlative Group to study, market and sell corporate sponsorships for city facilities. The cost of the contract, which City Council is still considering, is $305,000.
Parks Director Alexandria Nichols said a corporate name could be added to a recreation center without replacing the names of Clevelanders or historical figures that already grace the facilities. Nichols pointed back to the city’s master plan for parks.
“The master plan does recognize that parks and recreation facilities and services have been underfunded, and this is an opportunity for the city to get funding that would not come out of the General Fund,” she told council members at a committee meeting this week.
The city isn’t just considering deals for parks and rec centers. City Hall is looking at all of its properties, including public safety facilities, Chief Operating Officer Bonnie Teeuwen said.
City Council members made sure to add an amendment that any naming rights deal would have to come back to them.
It’s too early to say what sponsorships the city could land, but it’s fun to guess. The Muscle Milk Recreation Center on Woodland Avenue. The Glad ForceFlex Trash Bag Waste Transfer Station at Ridge Road. The Third District Police Headquarters, brought to you by Flock Safety.
Of course, at least one city-owned building already has a naming rights deal: Huntington Bank Field. The sponsorship money flows not to the city but to the Cleveland Browns. That deal would follow the team to Brook Park.
