Citrus will be squeezed out of Florida Citrus Bowls name Citrus days are likely numbered at the Florida Citrus Bowl. In a region where citrus was once king, one of the most prominent vestiges of that heritage — the Florida Citrus Bowl stadium — will drop citrus from its name. For the right price. Florida Citrus Sports, the organization that hosts college-football bowl games and other events at the venue, is trying to sell naming rights to a corporate sponsor. If successful, some company — likely with no connection to the citrus industry — will slap its name on the stadium. In this day and age, thats what comes with major sports in our country, said Steve Hogan, chief executive officer of the FCS. It wouldnt be the first name change for the stadium, but it has been associated with the citrus industry for most of its 78 years. It was called Orlando Stadium from 1936 to 1946 but was renamed the Tangerine Bowl for the next 28 years. In 1976, it took the name Citrus Bowl, then returned to the original Orlando Stadium name for the next five years. It was first named the Florida Citrus Bowl in 1983, and its been called that ever since. The name came from the state Citrus Commission, which used taxes collected from growers to sponsor the New Years Day bowl game now known as the Capital One Bowl. The stadium took the same citrus moniker as the game and kept it even after the Citrus Commission ended its longtime, $657,000-a-year sponsorship in 2002. Citrus used to be a dominant Florida industry but has declined through the years. Groves have been smacked by disease and devastated by freezes. Growers have given in to development pressure, selling off acres of orange and grapefruit trees for suburban housing developments. Citrus greening, a bacterial disease that arrived in 2005, represents the biggest danger yet and threatens to kill the industry. Longtime citrus grower Jerry Chicone Jr. helped push for the Citrus Bowl name, and said he prefers old names such as the Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl to the corporate names now tacked on. But he understands that money matters. We worked very hard back in the early days to name the Florida Citrus Bowl, he said. But across the country, because these facilities cost so darn much money, the new tradition is they all sell the name. One of the necessities today is to have a corporate name. In the industry, theyll probably hang me, but everything changes. The Citrus Bowl is undergoing a $207 million renovation, and FCS is chipping in $6 million. The organization also expects to spend about $1 million a year on operating costs. Were making a pretty sizable investment, Hogan said. One of the ways were going to be able to recoup some of those dollars is to hopefully attract a proper naming partner for the building. Some things wont change. Hogans group will remain Florida Citrus Sports. Floats at the annual Citrus Bowl parade will still be made from fruit. But, even though the stadium is in the heart of Orange County, just off Orange Blossom Trail, it probably wont be the Florida Citrus Bowl much longer. Its not clear how much a sponsor might pay for the naming rights, as deals vary widely. Sponsorship of US Airways Center, home of the Phoenix Suns, costs a reported $866,666 a year. Royal Philips Electronics pays a reported $9.1 million a year to sponsor Philips Arena in Atlanta. In Orlando, a corporation would get brand exposure during the nationally televised Capital One and Russell Athletic bowls, but the facility has no professional football team or other permanent tenant. Theres also a risk that Orlando residents wont like it. Theres sometimes a backlash when a corporate logo replaces a name ingrained in the public psyche. Tampa residents mocked their concert venue for the few years it was dubbed the 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre. Students protested last year when Florida Atlantic University, home of the Owls, signed a deal with a private-prison company. Critics started calling it Owlcatraz, and the company backed out. Theres also something of a naming-rights curse. Companies flush with cash sometimes go on spending sprees, sponsoring stadiums or arenas, then fall on hard times. Remember Enron Field in Houston? Or Baltimores PSINet Stadium, whose $5.275 million-a-year sponsorship burst with the dot-com bubble? How about Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville? The New York Mets still play at Citi Field, but critics took to calling it Bailout Ballpark when Citigroup took $45 billion in government money during the financial crisis. Hogan said FCS is committed to finding a sponsor thats a good fit, a reliable corporate citizen that will want to help the neighborhoods around the stadium. And the city, which owns the stadium, has veto power when it comes to the name. Youre not going to do something that would embarrass the community, he said. It needs to be appropriate and right. Theres not going to be enhancement brands or anything of that nature.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 07:52:09 +0000
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