Carson boasts the StubHub Center and New Orleans the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Detroit has Ford Field and St. Louis has Busch Stadium.
In 2019, Fountain Valley hopes to join that trend with the (Undetermined Company Name) Basketball Court.
Last month, the Fountain Valley City Council unanimously approved a plan to offer businesses and organizations the opportunity to sponsor city-owned facilities.
On the list are the Fountain Valley Sports Park’s fields and courts, as well as rooms of various sizes at the two municipal rec centers.
The five-year contracts could bring the city about $50,000 a year while providing sponsors a source of advertising, said Community Services Director Rob Frizzelle.
“Sponsors will get their names on a plaque in a prominent location, such as at the entrance of a room or on a ball field’s fencing,” Frizzelle said. Icing on the cake: Most of those names will be published in the city’s Fountain Pen magazine, an itinerary of community events mailed to residents four times a year.
Essential expenses such as grounds maintenance will continue to be covered by the city’s general fund and by revenue raised from Measure HH, a 1 percent sales tax increase approved by voters in 2016.
“Sponsorship money will go to what we call ‘nice to haves,’ such as sunshades at parks and iPads for the senior center’s computer lab,” Frizzelle said.
The Community Partnership Program currently offers 15 facilities for naming rights, and more may be added on a case-by-case basis, he said.
Prices range from $2,500 per year for a sitting room at the Senior Recreation Center to $5,000 for the same building’s main hall. Each of the Sports Park’s six baseball-softball fields will also go for $5,000. “We want sponsors of all levels,” Frizelle said.
Contracts allow the city to adjust pricing in five years and sponsors to regroup. “We didn’t want to lock in businesses in perpetuity,” Frizzelle said.
The contracts are open to national brands, local businesses, nonprofits and individuals. Sponsors cannot promote alcohol or gambling, nor can political or religious organizations sign up.
Fountain Valley modeled the program after San Diego County’s, Frizzelle said. Other cities in Orange County that offer naming rights include Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Yorba Linda, he added.
Already, businesses have been approaching the city about sponsoring its facilities, Frizzelle said. “We didn’t feel right offering the program to a few without publicizing it to multiple organizations,” he said. “That’s the main reason we created this program.”