Gwinnett whiffs on stadium-naming deal

By Patrick Fox

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The deadline has passed for Gwinnett County to garner the lion’s share of money from the sale of naming rights for the Gwinnett Braves Stadium in Lawrenceville.

The county had until midnight Monday to secure a deal, which would have given it all the proceeds above the first $350,000. Terms of the contract now call for the Atlanta Braves to receive the first $350,000, the county to receive the second $350,000, and for both to split anything above that level.

It also calls for the Braves to take over shopping the stadium to a corporate sponsor.

The Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau, which had been tabbed by the county to supervise stadium construction and find a corporate sponsor, came up dry amid the tough economy.

“I believe the Convention and Visitors Bureau did everything they could to market it,” said County Administrator Jock Connell. “It’s just unfortunate that we find ourselves in the midst of one of the worst economies that anyone can remember -- not an environment conducive to naming rights deals.”

Roger C. Tutterow, professor of economics at Mercer University in Atlanta, said it’s hard to cut such deals when companies are pulling in their horns.

“During economic downturns, businesses shift into cost-containment mode,” he said. “No one is willing to spend money on public visibility/marketing activities unless there is a clearly defined short-term benefit.”

The county built the sale of naming rights into its financing package for the stadium, counting on the deal to bring in $300,000 a year to help repay the $33 million in bonds issued to fund construction. The total cost for the stadium, including land, is $64 million.

But Gwinnett officials say the loss of the naming rights revenue will be offset by greater-than-expected proceeds from a 3 percent tax on rental vehicles passed to help pay for construction.

That measure, which went into effect April 1, 2008, was expected to generate $700,000 in revenue from May 2008 to June 2009. Instead, the county has collected $978,700 in car rental taxes over that time, according to Gwinnett County CFO Aaron Bovos.

“The good news is that, based on the current performance, our rental car tax has been outperforming what we forecasted, and so we have made all our debt service payments ... without the naming rights revenue.”

Further, Bovos said, the county has four other revenue streams for the stadium. These include a $400,000 contribution from the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau, $250,000 in rent from the Braves, a minimum $400,000 in ticket surcharge fees; and a share of parking fees.