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 The Chronicle welcomes you online! Please feel free to respond to these editorials or letters to the editor by sending your letters to the editor.

We condense letters; most, as published, won't exceed 300 words. A letter must include the writer's name and city, which will be published, and an address and telephone number for verification, which will not be published. Writers may be limited to one letter every 30 days. Open letters, letters to third parties and poetry are not considered. Letters from people living outside the Chronicle's circulation area usually are not considered.

Opposes "selling" stadium's name

Web posted September 5, 1999

Editor, The Chronicle

It is hard to believe that the Augusta commissioners are considering selling the name of the publicly owned baseball stadium to a corporation and receiving only 25 percent of the proceeds. Had some private corporation been a major contributor to the renovation of the stadium, thenthey might deserve having it named after them. But that stadium is 100 percent taxpayer financed.

What's next? Selling the name of the jail to some bail bonding company that is willing to pay a few thousand a year?

Naturally, the owners of the baseball stadium -- the taxpayers -- should expect 100 percent of any revenue from the renaming of a public facility.

The out-of-state owned baseball team already gets an unbelievable break on renting the stadium, if you call paying $50,000 a year to rent a $4 million property a break. That's a 1 1/4 percent return on investment, with the taxpayers responsible for maintenance. You can bet that the upkeep will average about the same as the rental income, over the years. The present lease offers no way for the taxpayers to share in the profits of a successful season, as the team keeps the proceeds from concessions, signage revenues and future parking fees.

Recall that the city was bouncing payroll checks as they invested $2 million into the stadium.

When I served on the Civic Center board, we first proposed spending $1 million for an ice floor for minor league hockey, out of revenues already dedicat-ed to the Civic Center -- the special beer and hotel/motel tax. At first, many politicians and media people wanted us subjected to a lunacy test. Now the Augusta Lynx outdraws the baseball team with half the games, and the taxpayers profit on the Lynx's success with rent, concessions and parking.

I support the Lynx as a season ticket holder, but I'm very opposed to selling them the right to signage revenues inside the building, as well as the name of the Civic Center, as their management is suggesting. Would Frank Lawrence be as anxious to bring an arena football team to a building where all the revenue from inside advertising belonged to someone else?

As a Richmond County property owner, I think enough has been done for the minor league baseball team. Selling the name of public-owned facilities is a big mistake.

Frank A. Albert, Grovetown