Would you like your local playground to be named after you? Here’s your chance.
This week, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to approve a plan to sell naming rights for park facilities.
District 3 Supervisor Dave Roberts said the program could bring in as much as $6 million.
Roberts said the revenue will go toward new equipment and enhancements at San Diego County parks, not toward day-to-day maintenance.
“They (Parks and Recreation) were looking at some type of program not only to bring in new revenue to make our parks even greater, but give people that opportunity if they wanted to name something after a loved one or somebody who had passed away or a company,” he said.
Companies and individuals can purchase naming rights anywhere from one year to 20 years.
The names of parks themselves will not be for sale. Rather, people can name amenities within a park, such as playgrounds, trails and gazebos.
Local
Also, there are restrictions on which companies can purchase naming rights.
“We wanted to be clear that our ordinance said you could not have a company that supported tobacco products, you could not support alcohol, you could not support gambling,” Roberts said.
“We want to promote a healthy, active lifestyle.”
Not everyone is on board with the new plan. District 5 Supervisor Bill Horn, who voted against it, released the following statement:
I have a fundamental disagreement with a policy that would name County amenities for outside bidders. It implies the bidder paid for that amenity. These parks are built with taxpayers dollars, and the Board has a process in place for naming them in the public’s interest.
