(05-21-2019 06:47 PM)dogdangit Wrote: (05-21-2019 06:07 PM)Big Red Wrote: (05-21-2019 06:02 PM)dogdangit Wrote: (05-21-2019 09:26 AM)thehappyhuskie Wrote: (05-21-2019 07:03 AM)HuskieJoe Wrote: Are you comparing the Dan Ryan Expressway to Lincoln Highway?
20,000 fans coming to 82 games (1.6M total attendance) per year and paying MLB pricing for food/beverage to 800 fans coming to 14 MBB games (100x fewer fans)?
White Sox TV contracts to ESPN3?
I don’t see the value, and it’s clear these “potential” investors don’t either.
I think the Sears Center really hurts NIU. A better arena in the far western suburbs much more likely to draw bigger crowds than the Convo for the same event.
I'm not comparing. I was showing that even high traffic areas don't always fetch the price the seller thinks. Its a matter of the seller and buyer agreeing on a price, and my guess is NIU is selling a lot higher than most buyers see in value.
The MetroCenter in Rockford was able to land naming rights. The Kane County Cougars landed naming rights... twice.
Heck, the Slammers just announced naming rights yesterday. https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/wjol-j...adium-name
Even Kill managed to get SIU a naming rights partner and he's only been AD for a year.
https://thesouthern.com/news/local/siu/y...95d2b.html
What would be a comparable corporation to claim naming rights like SIU got with Banterra? Banterra is a bank with chains across southern illinois, parts of Kentucky, I think southern Indiana, and maybe Ohio. And, it's headquarted in Marion, IL, which is right next door to Carbondale. Keep in mind, there isn't much in the way of anything down there until you get to Paducah, KY.
So, what would be a comparable business/corporation that would seem like a good fit like Banterra is at SIU.
Discover card. Located in Chicago suburbs, Has tons of NIU alums including the CIO. Already has a presence on campus with an internship incubator in the library. Whats a better environment to promote predatory credit cards/ student loans than a college campus? Especially in an arena that hosts 16 HS graduation ceremonies, that's a lot of potential student loans regardless if they end up going to NIU or not.
I suppose if you think this is comparable...
But you're really comparing apples to oranges. Banterra is a regional financial institution and has direct ties to the local community through both business and philanthropy. I just don't see the same relationship with the community for Discover, which may be located in the "Chicago suburbs" (actually Riverwoods, which....1) I never knew until right now and 2) I'd never heard of until right now and I've lived in the Chicago suburbs for 20 years).
Geographically, Carbondale is not like DeKalb. DeKalb is overshadowed by Chicago in every way so thinking of tapping in to a Chicago institution and selling them on the benefits of sponsorship in DeKalb, when there are tons of either better or closer opportunities to market themselves is going to be more than difficult, nee impossible.
Nevertheless, comparing Discover's relationship with NIU and in DeKalb to Banterra in Carbondale is far fetched. Unfortunately there isn't a DeKalb Genetics anymore, as that would be a perfect fit. Granted, Monsanto is still a big employer there, so that could be a fit and would make sense due to the history of DeKalb. Other major employers in DeKalb are Northwestern Medicine and General Electric, but neither of those seem like a good fit.
At this point, looking at Rockford might make more sense. The largest employers (that make marketing sense) in that region are Fiat Chrysler, Mercy Health, SwedishAmerican Health, and OSF Healtcare, and Collins Aeorspace. Along with that, Mrs. Fisher's Potato Chips was founded and still locally owned and operated in Rockford. I'd think these would be better targets than Discover as they have regional attraction and employ a lot of people in the area.
Then again, maybe Frazier has reached out to all of those corporations and was told no.