Lubbock, Tx High School Lands $300K Sponsorship
Perhaps it's inevitable that cash-strapped high schools follow in the path of college and professional athletics. A Lubbock, Texas high school has secured a mid-six figure, 10 year naming rights partnership with a local bank. Frenship Independent School District board members voted Monday to award Peoples Bank the naming rights of the stadium for the next 10 years in a deal that will see the school district get provide $250,000 in cash upfront and another $50,000 for a video scoreboard at the stadium bearing its name.
According to the Lubbock Avalance-Journal, the school district plans to use the money for scholarships, not only for students, but also for teachers who wish to pursue master’s degrees.
According to school officials, the bank first approached Frenship about the possibility of a deal, and therefore the naming rights were never bid out to competing banks.
“When you’re trying to raise money to offset costs ... you have to look at options that don’t come from the taxpayers,” Superintendent David Vroonland told the paper.
“Colleges have been successful at doing it for a long time, and I just think it’s going to have to be that way for the school systems, especially those that are high profile. And I consider Frenship to be high profile and one of the best school districts in this area,” People's Bank CEO, Larry Allen said. “We’re just excited about the affiliation and the partnership with Frenship.”
Read more about the deal at LubbockOnline.com.
