Can there be creative compromise when it comes to Pullman Park becoming Kelly Automotive Park? Is there a way — and interest in — saving the ballpark without burying the name?

With the long and rich history of Pullman Park in Butler, it would be a shame if the name disappeared from the front of the ballpark that was refurbished partly with state taxpayer money that seemed linked to the ballpark’s historical significance.

Even after naming rights have been sold, it’s not too late to prevent the Pullman Park name from being lost.

One possible solution would be for Kelly Automotive, which is paying $30,000 a year for five years for the naming rights, to agree to have the playing field called Kelly Automotive Field, but letting the ballpark structure remain Pullman Park.

Granted, selling the naming rights to sports facilities has been going on for a decade or more. Three Rivers Stadium was replaced by PNC Park and Heinz Field. Corporate names grace professional sports facilities in most cities across the United States.

In Butler, the financially struggling Pullman Park agreed to sell naming rights to Kelly Automotive as a way to cover annual operating losses. The financial infusion will help keep the ballpark out of the red — and that support from Kelly Automotive is certainly welcome.

But, the historical significance of Pullman Park should not be discarded so easily.

Over decades of benign neglect, the ballpark had fallen into disrepair, but in the mid-2000s state grant money and loans were secured to pay for the extensive renovation work.

Pullman Park has been a visible reminder of Pullman Standard’s railcar manufacturing facility, which once produced covered hopper rail cars in a massive factory not far from the location of the ballfield. Recently, as a nod to that manufacturing history, a bright yellow hopper car was positioned on land owned by the Community Development Corporation of Butler County at the other end of the property in Lyndora that once was home to Pullman’s massive railcar manufacturing plant.

Beyond the issue of naming rights, the ballpark needs to become financially self-sustaining. That means finding ways to increase revenue for those using the park and finding more revenue-producing uses for the park. The Kelly Automotive deal is for five years. What’s happens after that?

It might be a challenge for sports announcers describing a game being played on Kelly Automotive Field at Pullman Park, but it would be worth it. If that’s unworkable, maybe the name could be Kelly Pullman Park?

Some might say the loss of the Pullman name is a sign of progress and that this sort of thing is happening all over the United States — or that most of the people who remember the Pullman name will be gone in the next 10 or 20 years. Maybe so, maybe this is progress and it’s just the way the world is today. But there’s something to be said for preserving history rather than burying it.

There must be a way to honor the ballpark’s rich history by keeping Pullman Park on the facade, while also recognizing the critical and generous contribution from Kelly Automotive to keep the park out of the red for five years.