City officials opened New Balance’s sealed bid at 11 a.m. yesterday, and “the room erupted in applause,’’ said Mayor Carolyn Kirk. “The stadium is in deplorable condition, and our children in Gloucester deserve so much better.’’
The derelict condition of the 75-year-old stadium, named for a Gloucester naval officer who died in World War I, contrasts sharply with its idyllic setting along the Annisquam River.
Gloucester High School sits next door to the facility, but physical education classes do not use the field, and the track’s rubber and asphalt are no longer usable.
“This is my sixth year as athletic director, and there hasn’t been a track meet here for about eight years,’’ said Kim Patience, who was also the field hockey coach for 21 years.
A new field, she said, would increase the pride athletes feel while representing their school. “It would only accentuate what they’ve already shown,’’ she said.
Kirk said she hopes the large donation encourages others to contribute to the project, which will include a new synthetic field, a track, and bleachers.
Beyond the New Balance sponsorship, the $3.5 million cost will be paid with public and private contributions, including $1.5 million borrowed by the city and $400,000 raised by the Gloucester Fisherman Athletic Association.
The goal is to raise the remaining cash so the city can break ground in the spring.
Corporate naming rights are commonplace in college and professional sports, from Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, to Target Field, where the Minnesota Twins play. But at the high school level, sponsorships have generally been limited to scoreboard advertising and fence placards.
Selling the right to name high school athletic facilities is a growing, if controversial, trend, particularly in a time of dwindling school and municipal budgets. It has happened in Texas, Indiana, and Washington.
And, in 2007, it happened in Worcester. The city renovated and renamed Foley Stadium as Commerce Bank Field at Foley Stadium after the financial institution donated a third of the $3 million cost.
Dan Lebowitz, who runs the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, said that selling naming rights keeps high school sports programs inclusive by helping to offset costs rather than passing them along to students.
“If this is something that they have to do to maintain access,’’ he said, “it’s a positive thing.’’
Akilah Johnson can be reached at ajohnson@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @akjohnson2.
