Firm aims to find event sponsors: Company wants to help city save money by developing corporate sponsors, partnerships

DAILY MAIL STAFF

Sponsorship deals with the city of Charleston may not be as flashyMichael Jordan peddling hot dogs and underwear, but it happens.

For several city events, Charleston officials line up a host ofsponsors to help fund the festivities. The West Virginia Lottery,West Virginia Coal, Jackson Kelly PLLC and local media outletssponsored the city's Fourth of July celebration this year.

The upcoming Sternwheel Regatta has more than two-dozen sponsorsincluding nationally recognized names Wendy's, Budweiser and HolidayInn.

It may seem that officials have little trouble landing corporatesponsors, but a Charleston-based firm wants to make the city asmarketable as a Hollywood blonde with more curves than Rutledge Road.

Point Forward wants to take Charleston a step further by saving itmore money and bettering services through corporate sponsorships. AtMonday's City Council meeting, the firm offered Charleston itsservices, which would include developing sponsorship packages andsecuring corporate partners for the city.

That might help out with some events that have little or nosponsorship, some city leaders say.

"It's always an effort with festivals like Regatta to findsponsors," said City Manager David Molgaard.

"More recently, Live on the Levee doesn't really have anysponsors."

Then there's the issue of naming city venues. With the flurry ofcorporate-named arenas in the country like the Staples Center, theCharleston Civic Center seems a tad out of sync in that respect.

But the Charleston Civic Center, a component of the city, has beendiscussing selling naming rights to the venue for more than a year.

While some city leaders may be open to the sponsorship idea, thereare a few areas that would certainly be off-limits for a logo orcheesy slogan.

"A few years back, there were some issues involving sponsorshipfor police cars in Putnam County," Molgaard said.

"That's not an area Charleston wants to go down. There needs to bea certain respect, dignity about law enforcement and other types ofthings. Having a Go-Mart logo on the back of a police car would tendto denigrate it."

Point Forward has offered an initial three-month study for thecity that would cost $21,000. Some officials are hesitant to spendthat much unless it's certain that the city will reap benefits.

"It's an awful lot to invest in at the beginning," said MayorDanny Jones. "I'd like to see what other cities are doing. There'svalue in the fact that they can help us identify some potentialsponsors and sources of revenue. We're just questioning the price."

Molgaard said the cost might be reasonable, depending on thereturn.

"Considering what we might get in return, that might be 30 timesthe amount we pay," he said.

"Is it worth spending $21,000 to see if we can save $750,000? Ithink it is. Once the analysis is done, then we'll be in betterposition to know if it makes sense to go forward."

Contact writer Jake Stump at jakestump@dailymail.com or 348-4842.