In testimony on Thursday to the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee, Bob Meier, Policy & Government Relations Director for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, revealed that the agency was considering selling branding rights to state parks.
Chronic budget shortfalls have left the department cash-poor.
Committee Minority Lead, state representative Rick Hansen reflected on the public purpose of parks, musing:
. . . if we wanted to make money, we could sell naming rights, or brand. I think there are a lot of hotels that are branded...you could have Trump concessions at some of these. We don't want that. That's not what Minnesotans want.
They want the parks for use. I think they have an expectation that they're functional, that when they go there things are working. ...
Often we talk about costs. We don't talk about benefits. And if we were just looking at revenue, there's things we could do to raise revenue but I don't think Minnesotans would like that. I hope we don't go down that path in terms of selling rights or concessions or those type of things in order to generate revenue. That's not where we want to be.
Meier's response surprised Hansen, who told Bluestem in a phone interview that he had no advance knowledge of the DNR's exploration of selling branding rights. Meier responded in the hearing:
. . .Unfortunately, we have been looking at that, right? With the budget situation at parks, if we can't stabilize the funding . . . So we have been evaluating that. Unfortunately enough, we'll have to have that discussion with the legislature to get that authority if we go down that road, so you will an opportunity to have that discussion if we do have to go to that point.
Here's the video of the exchange:
The state of Wisconsin went down this path beginning in 2015, the Wisconsin State Journal reported in Cathy Stepp tells panel DNR may sell naming rights to state parks. The Wall Street Journal reported in mid-January 2017 in Wisconsin Parks Mull Naming Rights for Sites as Tax Support Evaporates:
Wisconsin’s cash-strapped state parks are considering selling naming rights or sponsorships at some facilities, raising concern that pristine natural landscapes may be dotted with corporate logos.
Wisconsin’s is one of a number of state-park systems looking for new ways to pay for operations as lawmakers reduce funding. From Alabama to Alaska, park administrators have cut costs, raised fees or formed public-private partnerships, despite record numbers of visitors. In 2015, the most recent year for which data are available, parks were visited 759.5 million times, up from 739.6 million in 2014.
In Wisconsin, lawmakers in 2015 eliminated all state tax support for the Department of Natural Resources, which oversees state parks. That led to a $1.4 million deficit and forced the department to seek new ways to earn revenue.
In December, it submitted a number of proposals to state lawmakers, including raising campsite fees. It also proposed what it called a “limited path” for “sponsorships and advertising.” Some think that could mean selling naming rights for parks or park facilities. Critics say that is akin to what sports stadiums do to raise money.
“I hope we don’t go that way,” said Democratic Wisconsin State Sen. Jon Erpenbach. “The less we invest, the more corporations will step in and take over. And that’s not the Wisconsin tradition. [We would be] selling a piece of who we are.”
We're not sure what's up with Wisconsin, the place that birthed the "blaze pink for lady hunters" movement, but we're hoping the Minnesota legislature simply comes up with a non-corporate logo fix for our parks.
Photo: Temperance River State Park could be sponsored by the Minnesota Beer Activists.
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