A stadium by any other name

With the corporate naming wave having swept over professional sports and now taking firm hold on college campuses, we knew it was only a matter of time before the folks in charge of corporate marketing turned their attention to the remaining untapped resource: public school systems. One of the early cases is happening right now in Conroe, where school district officials are weighing a $1 million offer to name their high school football stadium after Woodforest National Bank.

The deal would give The Woodlands-based Woodforest unlimited marketing exposure at the $38 million stadium, expected to open next fall. In exchange, Conroe ISD would get about $8,333 a month for 10 years, which it could use to offset operating and maintenance costs at the new facility. ''I think that anytime we can have a viable way to try to offset using taxpayer money to pay for the operating expense of a facility, I think we need to explore it and that's what the board is doing," Conroe school board President Gerald Irons told the Chronicle. If Conroe ISD accepts the deal, it will be the fourth Texas school district to sell naming rights; districts in Tyler, Midland and Forney have already made deals worth a combined $4.12 million.

But naming public school facilities after corporations isn't sitting well with some people, including Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert, a group aimed at keeping corporate culture from corrupting today's kids. "It shows a decline of values," Ruskin said. ''We don't think it's acceptable to sell our children and our civic spaces. Neither should be for sale." Brad Beers, a Conroe parent, agreed: "If you put (business names) on stadiums, why not a school or a library?" Excellent idea — we're sure school districts have already thought about it.

The Conroe school board was set to vote on the naming proposal last week, but postponed the vote until February, when it will have a finalized contract.

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Image: Conroe ISD