Bethune-Cookman University is seeking a naming rights deal for Daytona Stadium, home of the university’s football team, the Wildcats.
According to a representative of Tebo & Associates, a firm currently working on a potential deal, the deal could generate $1 million each year.
Since the city of Daytona Beach owns and operates the stadium, the city commission must also give its approval, said city spokeswoman Susan Cerbone. The city and the university would share the revenue equally.
Any naming rights deal would also have to include a reference to Larry Kelly, a longtime mayor who was in office when the 9,601-capacity stadium opened in 1988. The stadium is also known as Larry Kelly Field.
According to a B-CU representative, university officials were unavailable for comment Thursday.
“It’s the ultimate means of capturing a flag in the marketplace,” said Brian Siatkowski, managing partner of Tebo & Associates.
“They say, ‘We are in this community. We are not going anywhere.’ … And often that loyalty is reciprocated,” he said.
Siatkowski said some preliminary talks had already begun.
Typical targets of stadium naming rights agreements include healthcare providers, as well as companies in the financial and service sectors.
“Law firms are another big issue,” Siatkowski said. “Any other employer in the market is a good employer.”
For startup companies, acquiring naming rights can be a significant advantage.
“They can attract a lot of attention with this,” he says. However, sellers of naming rights have to be careful with startups because they are more likely to fail.
Siatkowski said a deal worth $1 million annually for 10 years would be “optimal.”
However, while Florida International University recently announced a $12 million naming rights deal with rapper and premium vodka seller Pitbull, some HBCUs have settled for far less.
In 2018, North Carolina A&T sold the naming rights to BB&T for $1.5 million over 15 years. The school’s football stadium has since been renamed Truist Stadium with the merger between BB&T and SunTrust.
Most recently, in 2023, Hampton University in Virginia sold its naming rights to TowneBank for $1 million. This deal also linked the university and the company in the area of career services and professional development opportunities.
Daytona Stadium’s proximity to Daytona International Speedway — both are less than 6 miles apart — should help B-CU find a partner, Siatkowski said, but he added that having a name on a stadium roof has a wider reach than one of dozens of sponsors.
“When you go to an event at Daytona International, all of these sponsorships are great. And they all have value, but there are so many. There are so many brands,” he said.
