I know that MCC President Walt Packard announced the baseball stadium proposal is dead, but I still want to critique Economics Research Associates’ second analysis on Mark Houser’s and Pete Heitman’s McHenry County College baseball stadium proposal covers naming rights of the stadium and inside recreation facility.
Just in case, it comes back again.
On page 16, $250,000 is again reported as the annual price for naming the stadium. It assumes a 20% increase every five years.
ERA’s Dave Stone doesn’t say much about this early expected revenue.
Maybe that’s because there isn’t a lot of support for that very important number.
In Bridgeport, the largest city in Connecticut has been trying to sell naming rights for ten years and have failed to do so.
“As the data shows $250,000 per year is achievable for an independent ballpark, and in fact has been exceeded, but is toward the high end of completed deals in independent baseball,” the report reads.
Fargo got $300,000 to name its stadium Newman Outdoor Field; Camden, NJ got $300,000. Camden’s is named Campbell’s Field.
Neither are in the Frontier League.
The highest naming rights–$125,000–cited in the Frontier League is Florence, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.
And, that’s in a TV media market, which Crystal Lake definitely is not.
GMC Park in Sauget, Illinois, where Gateway Grizzles play, was $100,000. It’s now called GCS Ball park, but no payment is listed.
Twenty-one teams (five Frontier League teams have no figures) are listed, but naming rights payments are listed for only thirteen.
And, there is no indication of the comparability of any of these teams to Crystal Lake’s market.
In Schaumburg, the team gets $200,000; in Joliet the amount is $150,000.
And ERA says $250,000 a year is achievable.
Competitive area naming rights are not $250,000.
Menard’s like flags, so maybe it will be interested.
Or, perhaps, Blain’s Farm and Fleet will bite. I noticed it is flying American Flags on in Woodstock.
Tinker Bell, where is your magic wand?