Fairfax Co. weighs next steps for selling naming rights to high school sports facilities – WTOP News
Fairfax County, Virginia, school board members have lingering questions about a potential proposal to sell naming rights to high school sports facilities, setting a plan Tuesday to discuss how to move forward in the coming weeks.
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During a board work session, Tom Horn, director of student activities and athletics for the Northern Virginia district, described a potential timeline to implement the idea if it had support. The presentation came months after a directive from board members Mateo Dunne and Kyle McDaniel, who were seeking more information about selling naming rights as an option to increase revenue.
While some nearby school districts, including Loudoun County, have individual athletic sites with a naming rights deal, Horn said pursuing a districtwide initiative would be a first-of-its-kind approach among Northern Virginia counties.
Some supported the idea as a creative way to bring in additional cash. But others were skeptical of how the money would be distributed and spent, and what guidelines may dictate the types of companies that can be involved.
“The fact that we’re even discussing this is a sad state of affairs in terms of public education and funding because we’re having to look for resources and we’re trying to be creative for looking for resources for our school, for our students, for our programs,” Board Member Marcia St. John-Cunning said.
The county’s Policy 8170, Horn said, calls for all naming-rights revenue to be allocated to a facilities fund. The policy is “permissive,” he said, because the division hasn’t received many unsolicited naming rights offers, there may be ambiguities in the current policy. Under any potential plan, the school board would have the final approval authority for naming rights deals. Initial contracts would be capped at a minimum first term of five years.
The division could consider issuing a request for information this fall, which Horn said is a low-risk approach to gauging how much interest there may be in naming rights deals.
Fairfax County has 26 high school campuses, and 20 high school stadiums already have a name attached to a stadium, field or complex. Instead of each school pursuing individual deals, Horn said the school board would identify specific locations eligible for naming.
“Stadiums always come to mind first, but there are many other facilities on our campuses that the board could contemplate, and some of them can exceed and go beyond simply athletic facilities — tennis courts, tracks, weight rooms, concession stands, press boxes,” Horn said. “But there may be laboratory spaces, auditoriums and other facility areas that the board may contemplate as part of a comprehensive naming rights program.”
School Board Member Ricardy Anderson stressed the importance of ensuring all revenue is distributed equitably and anticipated community concerns.
“How do we navigate the fact that, ‘You brought this signage into my school, so it should be my money?’” Anderson said. “And you brought the signage into my school, and it is offensive to my community. Even though we have these guardrails, I’m going to put it out there — everybody loves Chick-fil-A, but not everybody wants to have their politics be stuck in their faces every day.”
Board Member Seema Dixit, meanwhile, said she’s reluctant about the idea, because using names on corporate buildings “may give the impression that we are sponsoring them.”
As the session concluded, McDaniel said a follow-up meeting to discuss potential next steps could be scheduled in the coming weeks.
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