Naming Rights Sold -- This Time, at High School Field
by Nancy Ryan
Chicago Tribune, August 14, 2002

Vernon Hills High School stole a play from professional sports teams when officials needed money to complete the new football stadium. They sold the name to the $1.8 million facility, which will open in October as Rust-Oleum Field.

The tactic, which raised $100,000 and a few eyebrows, could enter the record books as the first time a high school stadium in Illinois has been named after a corporate donor.

It's the most recent--and some would say one of the most blatant--examples of the growing commercialism in student sports, as financially strapped schools increasingly turn to private sponsors for everything from cash to uniforms and equipment.

Officials and parents at Vernon Hills and other Illinois high schools argue that corporate money is a creative alternative to increasing taxes or cutting programs. The fundraising strategy is acceptable as long as products aren't aggressively hawked to students, they say.

But Alex Molnar, director of Arizona State University's Commercialism in Education Research Unit, said the Rust-Oleum agreement sets a bad precedent.

"Why isn't it called Taxpayers' Stadium?" he said. "Where else are you going to get a brick-and-mortar stadium worth $1.8 million named after you for $100,000? Basically what you have is taxpayers subsidizing Rust-Oleum's advertising."

The donation by Rust-Oleum Corp., a Vernon Hills paint manufacturer, helped pay for the field's scoreboard, refreshment stand, lights and other amenities. Under the 20-year agreement, the company's name will be displayed on a plaque on a pillar near the entrance to the stadium and in the press room.

The deal, which also requires the company to provide paint to maintain the field's outdoor equipment, was viewed as a goodwill gesture, not as a marketing tool, officials say.

The donation "wasn't so much for the naming of the field," said Gene Childers, facilities manager for Rust-Oleum. "It's our way of giving back to the community."

The company was approached with the proposal by parents involved in school booster groups.
"Trust me, this won't sell one extra can of paint for Rust-Oleum," said Vernon Hills parent Richard Friedenberg, who was involved in talks with the company.

But critics worry that schools faced with severe budget shortfalls are becoming too eager to enter into formal arrangements with companies.

Corporate deals have become so common that educators and business managers attend conferences to learn how to increase revenue from marketing at schools, according to a 2000 study by the federal General Accounting Office.

Other Agreements

The naming rights issue might not be as emotionally charged at the high school level as was the proposal to rename Soldier Field, which the Chicago Bears dropped after it caused an uproar. But the issue can still cause sharp disagreements at schools.
Last month in Naperville, a divided school board approved an agreement that allows equipment manufacturer Under Armour to hang a banner during Naperville Central football games. In exchange, the company provided $7,500 worth of T-shirts that players wear under their shoulder pads.

Osie Davenport, a board member who voted against the contract, was concerned it might reinforce the message that students should favor one brand over another--usually the more expensive one.

"It doesn't support some of the principles we're trying to teach," Davenport said.

In Chicago's public high schools, corporations often sponsor games and are allowed to hang banners or place ads in programs. Gatorade has donated beverages. Other companies have given shoes or T-shirts to players, said school spokeswoman Sandy Rodriguez.

St. Charles East and North High Schools currently list Coca-Cola and Pepsi as sponsors in programs for games and other events.

School PSLs

Nationally, some schools have pushed the marketing envelope further, again following the pro sports model. Several years ago the high school in Ravenna, Ohio, financed a new stadium by selling personal seat licenses for $1,500 each.

In the late 1990s, public schools in Grapevine, Texas, allowed companies to place signs in the gym and advertise daily on the school TV station for $1,000. For $5,000, they could advertise on the stadium and on school buses.

More recently, a gym at Costello Elementary School in Brooklawn, N.J., was named the ShopRite of Brooklawn Gymnasium for a $100,000 donation.

Corporate sponsors don't get involved just because they want to be nice, said Marty Hickman, executive director of the Illinois High School Association, which regulates school sports and other extracurricular programs.

"They're typically looking for some benefit down the road," he said.

Asked about Rust-Oleum Field, Hickman said he wasn't aware of any other school stadium in Illinois named after a corporation. Neither were officials at the Illinois State Board of Education, spokesman Wade Nelson said.

Even skeptics of increased marketing in schools caution that it's important to distinguish between corporate-sponsored scholarships and other long-established traditions and recent cases where schools sign contracts to serve only one soft drink brand.

Soft Drink Deals

In 1999, Naperville School District 203 and Aurora East School District 131 were among the first districts in the area to approve exclusive beverage vending machine contracts with a major distributor.

"There's a role for business involvement in the classroom, but we and parents need to be wary when students are a captive audience" for advertising ploys, said Melinda Anderson, spokeswoman for the National Education Association, a Washington, D.C.-based teachers union.

Specifically, the association has questioned the appropriateness of exclusive contracts with beverage companies because their marketing treats children as consumers rather than as students.

St. Charles North signed an agreement to sell only Pepsi. But except for a mention of the company in event programs, no banners or other ads are displayed, said Tom Hernandez, a school spokesman.

"Other than that, you really don't know there's this relationship," Hernandez said.

At Naperville Central, officials said their contract with Under Armour covers only the current football season.

"What we've done is exchange some publicity for some merchandise," said Marty Bee, the school's athletic director.

Limited Exposure

Anne Landgraf, a member of the Vernon Hills school board, which unanimously approved the Rust-Oleum deal last month, said the new corporate name shouldn't be viewed as an marketing device that targets students. It will be limited strictly to the stadium, she said.

"If the name was in the school building and kids were being bombarded every day, that would be different," Landgraf said.
Landgraf said no one from the public expressed skepticism about the plan at board meetings, although she said one or two board members had concerns.

One Vernon Hills parent, Kathy Bold, said that naming the high school field after Rust-Oleum seemed benign compared with other alternatives.

"It's better than Budweiser Stadium," she said.