From DallasNews.com
Review by Anne Whitmore in KIN 501
In the article “Allen’s new Eagle Stadium plans go beyond local high school football games” written by Jeff Mosier (2012), the author explains how the school district is trying to find ways to attract funding to help pay for spending $60 million dollars on a high school football stadium. The stadium has 18,000 seats and has the potential to attract 100,000 nonresidents each year to the town. The ticket revenue from events and games is expected to cover operating costs plus have money left over to put back into the general budget fund. With only four guaranteed home football games the district is looking for other avenues to fill the stands, keep concessions busy, and help other local businesses prosper (Mosier, 2012).
Advertised as a regional attraction the school district hired PPI marketing to help bring in more events (Mosier, 2012). Mosier (2012) writes that the Allen stadium has already been successful in attracting games to its new stadium held perviously at other high schools and professional stadiums. Other events that PPI is trying to attract to the stadium is the Lone Star Football Festival usually held at Cowboys Stadium. The NCAA Division II football championship and the Texas vs. the National all-star football game which is televised and attracts scouts from across the US and Canada. PPI is also looking to attract concerts and marching band competitions to this new space. Part of their marketing plan for these events is to either offer a cheaper venue for the event. Or in some cases they are able to offer more seats and a new clean environment compared to older venues (Mosier, 2012).
Along with attracting events to offset the cost of the stadium PPI has also helped Allen gain lucrative sponsorships. The stadium will have 10 founding sponsors who will pay $35,000 dollars annually for three years (Mosier, 2012). At the time of this article they had six founding sponsors signed up. Part of PPI’s marketing plan is to offer these sponsors a “clean look” (Mosier, 2012). Meaning that the district is limiting the signage around the stadium and the number of sponsors. According to Mossier (2012) each of the founding sponsors will receive ads in game programs; signs in the home and visitors concourse; sideline signs, static signs and two 30-second commercials on the video board; mention by the public address announcer; and signs in the baseball-softball complex and gymnasium. The stadium also has four “community” sponsors that pay $15,000 per year and receive a smaller amount of signage. Three of these vendors have vending contracts with the stadium or school district (Mosier, 2012).
In the article “Allen’s new Eagle Stadium plans go beyond local high school football games” written by Jeff Mosier (2012), the author explains how the school district is trying to find ways to attract funding to help pay for spending $60 million dollars on a high school football stadium. The stadium has 18,000 seats and has the potential to attract 100,000 nonresidents each year to the town. The ticket revenue from events and games is expected to cover operating costs plus have money left over to put back into the general budget fund. With only four guaranteed home football games the district is looking for other avenues to fill the stands, keep concessions busy, and help other local businesses prosper (Mosier, 2012).
Advertised as a regional attraction the school district hired PPI marketing to help bring in more events (Mosier, 2012). Mosier (2012) writes that the Allen stadium has already been successful in attracting games to its new stadium held perviously at other high schools and professional stadiums. Other events that PPI is trying to attract to the stadium is the Lone Star Football Festival usually held at Cowboys Stadium. The NCAA Division II football championship and the Texas vs. the National all-star football game which is televised and attracts scouts from across the US and Canada. PPI is also looking to attract concerts and marching band competitions to this new space. Part of their marketing plan for these events is to either offer a cheaper venue for the event. Or in some cases they are able to offer more seats and a new clean environment compared to older venues (Mosier, 2012).
Along with attracting events to offset the cost of the stadium PPI has also helped Allen gain lucrative sponsorships. The stadium will have 10 founding sponsors who will pay $35,000 dollars annually for three years (Mosier, 2012). At the time of this article they had six founding sponsors signed up. Part of PPI’s marketing plan is to offer these sponsors a “clean look” (Mosier, 2012). Meaning that the district is limiting the signage around the stadium and the number of sponsors. According to Mossier (2012) each of the founding sponsors will receive ads in game programs; signs in the home and visitors concourse; sideline signs, static signs and two 30-second commercials on the video board; mention by the public address announcer; and signs in the baseball-softball complex and gymnasium. The stadium also has four “community” sponsors that pay $15,000 per year and receive a smaller amount of signage. Three of these vendors have vending contracts with the stadium or school district (Mosier, 2012).
Critique
Like it said in the article I also believe that Allen is doing a good job of taking advantage of what the new football stadium has to offer by aggressively pursuing events and sponsorship options (Mosier, 2012). This stadium has received coverage nationwide and is earning mentions form The New York Times and national TV networks. It has the hype of being new and the “Aw” factor going for it until the next new thing comes around (Mosier, 2012). The stadium and the marketing behind it is setting a new standard for high schools across the nation. It is also setting a new standard for what businesses can look at for sponsorships. I have no doubts that more and more local public entities will try to follow suite. Leading to towns without professional teams having more opportunities for this type of investment.
I believe it is smart for a business to invest in a local project. It gets their name out to the community and beyond in a positive fashion especially in Texas where football is king. In Allen they are providing a distinct and an innovative way to offer a sponsor a deal that they will not see anywhere else. I believe that is the main reason the district has been successful with this project.
Allen’s stadium took a lot of money to build and right now seems to be on its way to supporting it self and the town. I would love to see a follow up article after three years to see if the school district is able to retain sponsorships and uphold this new standard for high school football stadiums and marketing. I would also like to see an article about what rules and regulations that are in place to help control public entities trying to gain sponsorships for their districts. I know that there are some already in place but what new regulations will come about because of the potential growth factor for sponsorships at the high school level.
Like it said in the article I also believe that Allen is doing a good job of taking advantage of what the new football stadium has to offer by aggressively pursuing events and sponsorship options (Mosier, 2012). This stadium has received coverage nationwide and is earning mentions form The New York Times and national TV networks. It has the hype of being new and the “Aw” factor going for it until the next new thing comes around (Mosier, 2012). The stadium and the marketing behind it is setting a new standard for high schools across the nation. It is also setting a new standard for what businesses can look at for sponsorships. I have no doubts that more and more local public entities will try to follow suite. Leading to towns without professional teams having more opportunities for this type of investment.
I believe it is smart for a business to invest in a local project. It gets their name out to the community and beyond in a positive fashion especially in Texas where football is king. In Allen they are providing a distinct and an innovative way to offer a sponsor a deal that they will not see anywhere else. I believe that is the main reason the district has been successful with this project.
Allen’s stadium took a lot of money to build and right now seems to be on its way to supporting it self and the town. I would love to see a follow up article after three years to see if the school district is able to retain sponsorships and uphold this new standard for high school football stadiums and marketing. I would also like to see an article about what rules and regulations that are in place to help control public entities trying to gain sponsorships for their districts. I know that there are some already in place but what new regulations will come about because of the potential growth factor for sponsorships at the high school level.
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