Don't neglect hidden dollars
Jim Juliano - Spring 2010

Have you taken advantage of your team's potential for advertising and sponsorships?

• Consider adding ad inventory and signs at all appropriate locations in the ballpark, keeping good taste and baseball values in mind.
  
  
• Look for areas outside the ballpark that face passing traffic. Maybe there is room for a fixed sign or other mechanism. Full-size billboards may also be permitted, depending on local zoning and federal highway regulations.
  
  
• Naming rights and other sponsorships offer more opportunities. Your ballpark lease will likely cover the ownership of naming rights for the ballpark itself, but allow other opportunities. For example, each entrance to the ballpark might have a sponsor. How about the field itself? Or perhaps the concourse or areas within the concourse? You also might be able to find a sponsor for the picnic area or the party deck.
  

Contracts with sponsors, potential liabilities in fan promotions and local zoning laws may require legal attention. When in doubt, seek advice.