Cleveland may begin selling naming rights for city facilities to generate revenue for a sweeping parks and recreation master plan.
On Monday, City Council approved a request to hire a consultant to assess the viability of selling corporate sponsorships for city-owned facilities, like parks and community centers.
The city will pay $305,000 to Cleveland-based consulting firm The Superlative Group to determine value and potential revenue based on how much exposure the property has.
"If we feel that the values are not there for each of these assets, we can choose not to move forward," Bonnie Teeuwen, the city's Chief Operating Officer, told members of council on Monday.
The Superlative Group has done similar consulting in other cities across the country, including in Cleveland. The city already generates revenue from naming rights of various facilities like the Huntington Convention Center.
The proceeds will bolster the city’s first parks and recreation master plan in decades, which will renovate, repair and pay for projects with millions more in spending each year.
Last year, Cleveland established a new city department of Parks and Recreation after more than a decade without one. The department combined the separate divisions of parks and recreation centers which were previously housed under the Department of Public Works.
That department is currently digging into the recommendations laid out by the master plan, which was created by a team of consultants — but the city said it needs money to do so. The master plan recommended selling naming rights to increase revenue.
