Health systems have been coming under scrutiny for stadium naming rights deals.
In May, Weston Wamp, mayor of Hamilton County, Tenn., criticized Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger’s decision to acquire the naming rights to the new home of the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double-A affiliate of MLB’s Cincinnati Reds.
“When the County supported Erlanger’s transition to a nonprofit hospital, we didn’t envision multimillion-dollar deals for stadium naming rights,” Mr. Wamp stated.
Erlanger President and CEO Jim Coleman responded to local media: “We are proud of our decision to become the naming rights partner of the Lookouts’ incredible new stadium because it allows our system an unparalleled opportunity to reach our community in new and exciting ways in a competitive market.”
A June Ohio Capital Journal article noted that Marriottsville, Md.-based Bon Secours paid $4 million for the naming of a Greenville, S.C., sports arena around the time Congress was investigating its parent system for allegedly abusing the 340B federal funding program and neglecting underserved populations.
“This article inaccurately connects two events that happened in the same timeframe but that were not actually linked,” a Bon Secours spokesperson told Becker’s. “Our support of the Greenville stadium has never been questioned.”
