Want to have a building or other city government facility in Mount Airy named for someone? If so, be prepared to pay up to $5 million for that honor.
That is now the case due to this locality officially entering the naming-rights industry, which most notably has dominated professional sports with stadiums being designated for major corporations in exchange for big bucks.
The Mount Airy Board of Commissioners voted last Thursday night to adopt a facility-naming policy for the city which will apply to municipal-owned assets such as buildings, greenways, ballfields, trails and park sites.
However, that decision wasn’t unanimous, but 4-1, with dissenting Commissioner Chad Hutchens expressing concerns about the new measure.
“I’m just concerned about the money part of it,” Hutchens explained. He believes there are cases where that shouldn’t be a consideration.
Under the city’s new policy, “irrevocable” contributions are required for naming rights, including through trusts and contractual arrangements. This can involve funding for construction of facilities and otherwise to establish endowments for programs directly related to the space involved.
Minimum gift amounts specified include:
• $1 million to $5 million for naming a structure;
• $500,000 to $2.5 million for a city department or division;
• $250,000 to $1 million for a greenway or trail.
In cases where new construction or renovation is involved, at least half of the total project cost will be required, or a sum approved by the city board.
The new policy also applies to indoor spaces such as halls, gyms and pools.
Following suit
As is the case with most such policies, Mount Airy is taking a cue from other entities.
“We realized recently that Mount Airy doesn’t have a policy and everybody else has a policy,” Mayor Jon Cawley said regarding what brought this issue to the forefront.
“Most organizations have some kind of a naming policy.”
And this just doesn’t include major sports venues, but entities close to home which have naming-rights policies, including Surry Community College.
“And we just didn’t,” Cawley said.
He said naming rights already have been exercised to some extent in Mount Airy, mentioning Blackmon Amphitheater as an example.
It involved a case of some party wanting to designate that name for the facility, which likely was accompanied by a generous contribution, the mayor speculated.
“I don’t have the details of it,” Cawley said.
The new measure is meant to establish a consistent policy and guidelines for the naming of city-owned facilities.
Along with the monetary requirements, a name applied to something should reflect a “strong positive image” and “stand the test of time,” says wording in the measure.
The name should have widespread public support while also honoring outstanding accomplishments by an individual for the betterment of the community.
To avoid exploitation, another of the policy’s provisions states that the naming should “not result in the undue commercialization of the facility if it accompanies a corporate gift or sponsorship.”
“I think this will help protect us,” City Manager Darren Lewis said of the new policy, adding that Mount Airy has received requests over the years from citizens wanting to have something named for a family member.
It also was noted during the meeting that the commissioners will have the final say on any naming, to prevent abuse of that privilege for a building or other facility.
“A person cannot pay a million dollars and have the building named for them without board approval,” Mayor Cawley assured.
In responding to Commissioner Hutchens’ concerns about the financial figures included in the package, Lewis said the price structure is the same that Surry Community College has in place.
“I think they have been very successful with their naming policy,” the city manager said.
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