Naming rights revenue sought

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority's failure to sell the naming rights for its South Boston facility is costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, say Beacon Hill Republicans. They say the agency is dragging its feet in order to name the facility after Mayor Thomas M. Menino when he leaves office.

One national firm estimates that the state authority could make as much as $500,000 to $1 million for a multi year deal for corporate naming rights to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

"It is clear to people familiar with the situation that the Convention Center Authority is very reluctant to put the naming rights out to bid because they want to eventually name the facility for Mayor Menino," said Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei, a Wakefield Republican. "There is no other reason. It is a lot of money to leave on the table."

But that accusation has brought a firm denial from the mayor and from Convention Center Authority executive director James Rooney, Menino's former top aide in City Hall.

"The mayor has never expressed any interest to me in having the building named for him," Rooney said last week. "In fact, he was involved in the creation of the legislation that named it the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center."

Through a top aide, Menino also dismissed persistent talk in political circles that the authority intends to honor the long-serving mayor. "He would never ask anyone to name anything after him nor did he in this instance," said Dot Joyce, Menino's press secretary.

The issue flared up last week when the Senate GOP leadership filed a proposed amendment to the state budget that it says would either sharply reduce or possibly eliminate the current $2.5 million state subsidy to the convention center by requiring the authority to sell the naming rights by next January. The Senate will consider the amendment when it begins deliberations on the $27 billion state budget plan this week.

"I am not high on naming large edifices after politicians," said Senator Robert L. Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican and lead sponsor of the amendment. "I don't like that concept. We shouldn't name anything for any living politicians. We should let time pass, let people evaluate his record."

Rooney said that the authority had explored the possibility of selling the naming rights to the center, which opened in June 2004, but decided that there is no market for it. He said naming rights are only appealing to corporate sponsors in the case of stadiums and sports arenas that attract significant television coverage.

"None of the major convention center cities have done a naming-rights deal," he said.

Tisei and Hedlund noted that the state's Convention Center Authority had negotiated a $5 million naming rights agreement with MassMutual for its new facility in Springfield. But Rooney said that facility will also host sporting events, unlike the South Boston center.

Still, one specialist offered a different view of the value of the center's naming rights. Dick Sherwood, president of Front Row Marketing Services, a Philadelphia firm that negotiates naming rights around the country, said Boston would command one of the highest prices for a convention center because the city is a popular destination. But he agreed that convention centers do not yield the huge financial deals that sports arenas do.

"Convention centers don't get the major dollars," Sherwood said. "But [in] Boston, because it is a convention destination, you could garner the most money. I would guess between half a million and a million dollars."

It is not clear what kind of reception the GOP-sponsored amendment will get in the Senate. But the argument that the financially strapped state needs to find new and innovative revenue sources comes as Beacon Hill budget makers try to balance their spending plan for next year using the fewest number of painful cuts.

"We are dealing with a very tough budget that can't meet all our needs, particularly in some of the human services areas," Tisei said. "It's incumbent we look for every source of revenue we can."