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Oakland considers naming-rights deals for parks
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-considers-naming-rights-deals-for-parks-5402312.php
Oakland's Parks and Recreation Department is considering a policy that would allow corporations and wealthy donors to buy the right to name city-owned public parks, gardens and recreation centers if they pay enough to spruce up and maintain the sites.
Oakland's 2,500 acres of parkland, 25 recreation centers, 59 tennis courts, 53 athletic fields and five swimming pools need about $112 million in capital improvements, and there isn't enough money in the city's budget to fund basic maintenance, let alone large-scale fixes....
The answer, Riley said, is to lure businesses and philanthropists into paying to renovate and maintain Oakland's parks by letting them take public credit for their support. Neither Google nor any other company has signed up - the city's idea for the program is still developing.
"They have put names on different assets of parks for hundreds of years. They name it after the mayor or a Girl Scout leader that did a ton of work," said Barry Weiss, president of the Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation, a nonprofit that raises money for the city's parks. "But this approach is like what universities and hospitals have done for 200 years. They put your name on something in return for money."
Oakland's 2,500 acres of parkland, 25 recreation centers, 59 tennis courts, 53 athletic fields and five swimming pools need about $112 million in capital improvements, and there isn't enough money in the city's budget to fund basic maintenance, let alone large-scale fixes....
The answer, Riley said, is to lure businesses and philanthropists into paying to renovate and maintain Oakland's parks by letting them take public credit for their support. Neither Google nor any other company has signed up - the city's idea for the program is still developing.
"They have put names on different assets of parks for hundreds of years. They name it after the mayor or a Girl Scout leader that did a ton of work," said Barry Weiss, president of the Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation, a nonprofit that raises money for the city's parks. "But this approach is like what universities and hospitals have done for 200 years. They put your name on something in return for money."
Ooh! Ooh! I've got one! Turn Frank Ogawa Plaza, once the heart of Occupy Oakland, into Oscar Grant Plaza!!