Pullman Park may get new name
Historic Pullman Park may get a new name.
The city Parks, Recreation Grounds and Facilities Authority, which manages the park, is in negotiations to sell the naming rights of the baseball field to Kelly Automotive, according to Art Cordwell, a member of the authority's board of directors.
The proposed name would be Kelly Automotive Park.
Cordwell said the length of the deal would be five years, but neither he nor officials at Kelly Automotive would comment on its financial terms because the contract is not finalized.
Cordwell said a deal should be done within a month. If that happens, the name would be changed at the park by the beginning of next baseball season in March.
The authority has been seeking a partner to sell the naming rights to for years, Cordwell said.
“Until recently we weren't able to find someone to put the money up,” he said.
Brendan Kelly, general manager at Kelly Automotive, said, “It's always been my father's philosophy to reinvest in the community as much as possible ... And this (Pullman Park) is just a good fit for (Kelly Automotive). It's something good for the community. We know people who love to go to those games. ”
His father is U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3rd.
Ed Codi, chairman of the stadium authority board, said putting a corporate name on a sports venue “is certainly nothing new.”
“Seneca Valley's done it with NexTier Stadium and other high schools have done it,” Codi said. “You do what you can to find revenue to fund these facilities.
“I've played at Pullman Park myself. I know the historical significance of it. But the need of increasing revenues has to be our primary focus here.”
The authority has been seeking to sell the naming rights to help balance the budget of the park.
Cordwell said the park is set to lose about $30,000 this year.
“It's losing money,” he said.
Cordwell said the authority has been renegotiating its mortgage on the park with banks because of the deficit, but said the park needs more income.Cordwell said the naming rights would help the park to break even.“We don't look for the park to make a whole lot of money,” he said. “It's a community facility so you kind of have to accept that.”The search to sell the rights really picked up during the past year.The authority hired Quest Fore, a marketing company in Pittsburgh, a year ago to develop a marketing plan. Part of that plan was to sell naming rights.Cordwell said Kelly Automotive approached the authority in the past few months to discuss a possible deal.Cordwell said he supports renaming the park: “It helps the budget and it's great for the city to have someone step up and invest in this type of thing.”Codi emphasized the renaming of the park is far from a done deal.“The Redevelopment Authority has to approve it,” he said. “If that doesn't happen, the whole thing falls through.”Mayor Maggie Stock said the agreement would be good for the city.“I know that's been one of the issues since they opened the facility,” she said about its finances. “I'm glad it looks like they can accomplish that goal.”Stock said the deal would be good for everyone involved.“It's a great asset for the city and a great asset for anyone who promotes it,” she said of the park. “It's win-win for everyone.”Pullman Park was opened in 1934 and was the home to a New York Yankees farm team.The park closed in 2005 and was renovated two years later. It reopened in 2008.Today it is the home of the Butler BlueSox, which is a Prospect League team for college baseball players. It also hosts many youth, high school and other baseball teams along with boxing matches and community events.In a related matter, Codi said the Frontier League contacted him about the possibility of putting a baseball franchise in Butler in 2015, though no formal discussions or negotiations have taken place.“The league called me and no other talks are scheduled,” Codi said. “I haven't spoken to anyone with the Frontier League in six weeks. I don't even know if they're still interested in Butler. Their contact was more of an inquiry.“It's my job to bring as much revenue into Pullman Park as feasibly possible. If they were to make an offer, I'd have to sit down and look at it.”
