Park District, Following CTA's Lead, Seeks Corporate Underwriting to Balance Budget

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 12, 2010 3:00PM

Between Park District Superintendent Tim Mitchell's announcement that he was looking at underwriting to bring back the summer movie series in Grant Park and CTA's announcement that they're willing to sell naming rights to anything they own, we should have seen this coming.

The Chicago Park District is also looking at corporate sponsorship to help balance a $22 million deficit for next year. The Park District's plan for sponsorship is not as far-ranging as CTA's because their deficit is nowhere near the level of the Transit Authority's and, unlike CTA, Mitchell and the Park District actually planned ahead for such a contingency. They had $3 million saved up in a "rainy-day find" and will also use a one-time $12 million TIF surplus to help bridge that gap. The District is also proposing a 1 percent increase in program fees and a 3 percent increase in harbor fees, and will ask union employees to accept nine furlough days.

The Park District says it hopes to generate $850,000 in revenue from corporate sponsorships of things like lifeguard stands, trash cans and tennis courts.