Securing Facility Naming Rights Could Happen In Secondary Markets

BY Tom Powell
DALLAS -- Sales and marketing is where it all begins was the consensus of panelists at a session on small facilities during the Aug. 1-5 IAAM convention here.
Larry Gawronski of the Vicksburg (Miss.) Civic Center, who was to have been moderator, was called back to his facility at the last minute.
"Isn"t that typical when you"re more or less a one-man band," said Paul Cramer, of the Classic Center, Athens, Ga. Cramer was joined as a panelist by Michael Ross of the Gateway Center, Collinsville, Ill.; Tony Ford, South Commons Complex, Columbus, Ga.; and Mike Marion, Alltel Arena, Little Rock, Ark., who was formerly at the Tupelo (Miss.) Coliseum.
Ford pointed out that his facility hosts a Central Hockey League team and an indoor soccer club and the city was host for women"s fast pitch softball during the Olympics.
A big discussion involved Ticketmaster sales on the Internet, prompting Cramer to say, "video technology is definitely the way we"ll all have to go."
Brad Walsh of the Metro Centre, Rockford, Ill., said he has found that people who use the Internet expect immediate response. "They want you to be specific about the seat location. So far, we use it as a kind of fax or e-mail system for preferred seats.It has been well received, but we"ve got a long way to go. We now send back confirmations by e-mail.
"We distribute the tickets at will call, but so many want them by mail. So we will add that, with a charge. We send out monthly calendars of events, which makes them aware of what is going on. There is a $2 or $3 charge for a major show. The tickets are the same as if they were purchased from a phone room.
"There are many ad opportunities. We traded for computers. A local company designed ours, with our marketing director in charge. We spent $6,000 or $7,000 to start up, and a few thousand a year to maintain," said Walsh.
Randy Brown of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Ind., said, "we have contracted with a local company to provide Internet-related services instead of paying somebody for a home page. We have turned it into a revenue source. We can sell ads on our web page, and for us it"s a 50-50 split. It has turned into a profit center."
In one city, maintaining the computers is a high school and community project, with the library and university doing it, and in another, it"s being handled by the tourism office. "It becomes a team effort with another voice, but only one director running both," said Marion.
Brown said he has generated revenue from signage. "We have sold more lobby signage, and naming rights is something we"re looking at. That has always been something for large facilities in large cities, but it could catch on in secondary markets. While we will always be what we are, we could be the K&K Arena, or whatever, inside of