Sun Prairie sells naming rights to baseball field

With the announcement of the new Summit Credit Union Baseball Field, Sun Prairie has likely become the first Dane County school district to sell the naming rights for a specific school facility. And the high school’s varsity baseball field could be just the beginning: District officials want to sell naming rights to everything from the classrooms and the cafeteria to trophy cases and field lights at the new high school slated to open in the fall of 2010.
http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/442414

I am not sure how I feel about this. I know districts are struggling to increase revenue, and we went through a struggle over re-naming Ingalls Field when the turf debate began. Remember Richard Willich''s offer to pay for the turf if we renamed the field after him? I am not sure if this is a "slippery slope" situation, though Sun Prairie is taking it in that direction, I think, with the idea of naming classrooms and the cafeteria.

I know some people are concerned with overexposure of students to the message of the media, but with 100 cable channels and the Internet, what more exposure could there really be? I would only hope that the Ripon Area School District gets out in front of this issue and develops a sound policy to be pro-active. But, then again, maybe people have no problem with FieldTurf Stadium at Ingalls Field or the M-and-I Bank Ripon High School Gymnasium or McDonalds Diamond at Barlow Park? I would rather we name these sites after people who have made significant contributions to the community and district, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

UPDATE - SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. (AP) - A Dane County school district has sold the naming rights for a high school's baseball field, and says it's aiming for more sponsorships. The school is set to open in 2010. Sun Prairie School Board treasurer Jim McCourt says the goal is to have as many big items named as possible before then. Those items include the library, athletic fields and the cafeteria. Board members hope the deals will raise more than $3 million. Summit Credit Union donated $100,000 for the baseball field's naming rights. McCourt says all sponsors will be recognized tactfully, such as with a plaque. Josh Golin is a spokesman for the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. He says he understands economic realities but some places need to be off-limits for ads.