ODDD Discusses Park Sponsorships
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
The Opelousas Downtown Development District is beginning discussions which include corporate sponsorships and marketing strategies that will be used as revenue sources once the South City Park Community Center and Donald Gardner Stadium projects are completed.
Elizabeth “EB” Brooks, a consultant hired by the ODDD to assist with obtaining operating and maintenance revenues from sponsorships that sustain both projects, provided insight about naming rights during a Friday meeting that was declared to be informational due to a lack of a quorum.
ODDD executive director Lena Charles said a special meeting for the District to decide on action items is now scheduled for Tuesday at 10 am.
Charles said interrogatories from the ODDDD about sponsorships and marketing matters are still embryonic, but each is important in order for the city to maintain and operate the civic center and stadium.
Brooks said there are many other details to consider as the ODDD seeks to lure businesses into associating their brands with the park projects.
The ODDD and eventually the city, Brooks noted, must decide on issues such as the length of naming rights and the various levels of commercial sponsors needed in order to sustain revenues for operation and maintenance.
“I think you are on the right track with what (the ODDD) is doing. There are things to consider such as whether you want the naming rights for say, 10 years. Then you are going to have to go out and sell and resell and whether you are going to do that for more money,” said Brooks.
Charles said the ODDD needs guidance when it comes to obtaining sponsorships, something the District has never handled before.
For instance said Brooks, there are two park projects — the stadium and the civic center — that will need funding in order to extract revenue.
“You have to consider those (businesses) who might want fence panels as well as those who might want something that is more long term. There are major sponsorships like those who want their names on a building and then you need to decide on the costs, whether long term or short term and what are the contingencies,” said Brooks.
Parks and Recreation Director Chis Rideau added that there is no reason for businesses to avoid being associated with either project.
“I think that there are many who want to get involved. We need to start somewhere and use as many resources as possible,” Rideau said.
ODDD member Pat Fontenot, an Opelousas businessman, said it should be easy to find those waiting to advertise at either the stadium or civic center.
“I think that the sponsors who are out there are just waiting to here from (the ODDD) and selling this is something that should be easy. I think we should have no problem finding major corporations out there who are interested in what these projects are doing for the city and for sports,” Fontenot said.
