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Park Board officials say the ice park naming-rights deal generated $1.5 million over 10 years.
Park Board officials say the ice park naming-rights deal generated $1.5 million over 10 years.

Mediacom drops ice park, tennis stadium naming rights

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Mediacom Communications Corp. chose not to extend its $2 million naming rights contract for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board’s ice park and tennis stadium.

The Park Board yesterday announced the conclusion of the 10-year naming rights deal for the Mediacom Ice Park and the 2,500-seat Mediacom Tennis Stadium at the Cooper Tennis Complex. Signage was off the building this morning, and the center city ice rink has reverted to its original Jordan Valley Ice Park name; a new name has not been chosen for the tennis stadium, said Park Board Public Information Administrator Jenny Fillmer Edwards. The naming rights for both are now up for grabs.

“The door is open for interested partners,” she said via email.

Phyllis Peters, senior director of communications for Mediacom, said when the naming rights agreement was set in 2008, it “was never intended to be perpetual.”

“A key reason for not extending beyond the original intent of our 10-year sponsorship is to provide an open field, so to speak, for other community entities to partner with the Park Board,” Peters said via email, noting Mediacom “now gains added flexibility to pursue new opportunities that have emerged.”

Edwards said the Park Board generated $200,000 annually over the 10 years, resulting in $2 million from the naming-rights agreement for the ice park and tennis stadium. Of that, $150,000 a year came from the ice park.

Peters said Mediacom would use the freed-up cash to evaluate “potential areas where we can make a larger sponsorship that will have a valuable impact for area residents and our customers.”

The ice park, which features two NHL-sized ice rinks, opened in 2001. The tennis stadium was built in 1994 and is home to the Springfield Lasers World TeamTennis franchise, which won the 2018 World TeamTennis Championship.

In a news release, Park Board Director Bob Belote said Mediacom’s naming-rights funding was key to the facilities’ operations.

“Their sponsorship has been integral to the success of both the ice park and the tennis stadium,” he said in the release. “Mediacom also continues to professionally produce and televise a number of our parks sports activities, including Springfield Lasers matches, and that has greatly enhanced our overall level of service, as well."

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