The Byron (Minn.) School Board on Monday unanimously approved selling the naming rights of the high school gymnasium to Scheels, a North Dakota-based sporting goods store.
"It's part of our sponsorship program ... as other districts have done and continue to do throughout the state," superintendent Mike Neubeck said during the meeting, as reported by the Post Bulletin of Rochester. "Scheels has stepped up and said they'd like to partner with us."
According to Jordan Shearer of the Post Bulletin, Scheels will pay $12,000 annually over a 10-year period for a total of $120,000. The contract also allows Scheels to pay up to $3,000 a year in the form of sporting goods equipment.
"Every year, we're probably spending more than $3,000 in equipment," Neubeck said.
The school district will be financially responsible for installing, maintaining, and — if necessary — replacing signage on what will now be known as Scheels Gymnasium.. "All signage provided here under shall be maintained in first-class condition," the contract reads.
"The contract also specifies that the two parties will have to mutually agree on the placement of the signage," Shearer wrote. "So, if Scheels wants to incorporate its name into the gym's mural of the bear crashing through the bricks, it will have to have the district's sign-off to do so."
The school district is no stranger to naming rights deals. It sold the naming rights to the high school's new football field, though that sponsor has so far remained anonymous.
