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By ELLEN GEDALIUS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 25, 2008

Updated: 05/25/2008 12:13 am

TAMPA - You pull into a city-owned parking garage, driving past an ad for a tow truck company.

You buy a soda from a vending machine at a city park and notice all the drinks are made by Pepsi.

You drive past the Tampa Convention Center. It now bears the name of an insurance company.

Far-fetched? Perhaps not.
Tampa officials are exploring the idea of selling advertising space at city facilities, entering into an exclusive contract with a beverage company and selling naming rights to some city properties.

The idea: Make money to help keep the city from cutting services.

"It's unconventional," said John Moors, administrator for the Tampa Convention Center and the city's point person on this effort. "It's not something we've done before."

Last summer, as the effects of a souring economy and property tax cuts on the city's budget became clear, Mayor Pam Iorio created a task force and charged it with finding ways to make Tampa's government more efficient. She said she needed long-term solutions rather than short-term fixes because Tampa had to get used to a smaller government.

The task force's discussions have centered not just on cutting costs but on finding new ways to raise money.

The city floated the idea last year of selling naming rights to the Tampa Convention Center but never formalized the proposal, though officials still are considering it.

Now the city is looking at pushing that concept further. Ideas include selling advertising in city-owned parking garages, inside city buildings and on the sides of city-owned vehicles such as garbage trucks.

The city might hire a consultant to help focus its efforts. A consultant could recommend what locations might sell, create an advertising campaign and suggest potential buyers, said James Buckner, head of the city's Efficiency and Effectiveness Task Force.

"We're not experts at this," Buckner said. "You have to set up some sort of rules and structure because you don't want all sorts of crazy signs posted on your buildings."

City officials say they're not sure yet where they would draw the line. Any advertising effort would need to be coordinated so it's tasteful but not restrictive.

"A big sign in a park? I'm not sure," Moors said. "We don't want to spoil the natural beauty we've got with commercial signs."

Discussions are in the early stages and Buckner said moving forward would require Iorio's approval.

Name Of The Revenue Game

Tampa isn't alone in trying to find more ways to make money. The trend picked up after the 2001 terrorist attacks and the economy's downward spiral, said Chris Hoene, director of research and policy for the National League of Cities.

Cities needed to find ways to fill their budget gaps, and selling naming rights and entering exclusive contracts with beverage companies became increasingly common as cities grappled with property tax shortfalls and other economic issues.

Or, as Hoene put it, "We could raise your property tax bill or we can sell advertising."

Springfield, Mo., worked out a naming rights deal with local cable company Mediacom. A tennis complex will be named Mediacom Tennis Stadium, and an ice park will also bear the cable company's name.

The arrangement is expected to generate about $200,000 a year for 10 years for the city, said Louise Whall, a spokeswoman for Springfield. Money from the tennis courts' naming rights will go toward programs such as tennis lessons. Payments from the ice park deal will pay down debt on the facility.

The arrangement is new for the city, which traditionally has named facilities after donors, not corporations, Whall said.

Allentown, Pa., is also getting on board, considering selling naming rights opportunities at parks.

"We're always looking to raise revenue so we don't have to raise real estate taxes," Allentown spokesman Mike Moore said.

Closer to home, Hillsborough County's parks department might sell naming rights to public parks and sports fields. The concept is included in the department's master plan.

The Tampa Museum of Art is offering naming rights to its new building for $10 million. No takers yet, but some donors have signed on for smaller areas.

And the city of Miami passed an ordinance this year allowing businesses to buy naming rights to its parks facilities, said Ernest Burkeen, Miami's parks and recreation director.

So far, no one has expressed interesting in signing on, Burkeen said. He blames the economy.

Squeezing Every Drop Of Profit

Cities aren't only looking to advertising for additional money. Moors, of the Tampa Convention Center, said the city is considering striking a deal with a beverage company.

Commonly referred to as "pouring rights," a soft drink company could have exclusive rights to sell its beverages on city property. In exchange, the city would get a slice of the revenue.

Several years ago, Pinellas County struck a 10-year agreement with Pepsi, making the soft drink company the government's exclusive beverage. Pepsi paid Pinellas $25,000 up front.

The county also gets money for every vending machine placed in Pinellas, as well as commissions from drink sales, said Bill Berger, the county's business development manager. The county gets about $150,000 a year from the deal.

"In my mind, $100,000 is two jobs," Berger said. "That's the way we're looking at it these days."

It's that attitude that explains why cities are on board.

Parke Spencer, president of Civic Entertainment Group, which focuses on municipal marketing consulting work, said a lot of local governments are looking at pouring rights, sponsorships and naming rights deals.

"It does provide extra revenue," Spencer said. "Budgets are strapped. City leaders are looking for ways to generate non-tax revenues. It's probably not going to solve a large city's budget issues, but it's going to help."

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.

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