Gloucester seeks sponsorship rights for new stadium

Gloucester is hoping that a corporate sponsor will step up to help the city pay for a new municipal stadium.

Selling stadium naming rights is commonplace in the world of professional and major-college sports, but it remains rare among venues used for high school and other youth sports. Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk said the idea emerged after it became clear that the city was still $500,000 short of the project’s $3.5 million price tag, despite contributions from the city, the state, nonprofit organizations, and individuals.

“The stadium project is ambitious, and there’s no way the city can cover it,” Kirk said.

Newell Stadium, much of which was built in the 1930s, has been in decline for many years. The stadium will still be used for Gloucester High School’s football games this fall, but the field cannot handle additional use for other events, according to Kirk.

“The track team has not been able to have a home meet in over six years,” she said. “When the new stadium is complete it will be able to accommodate 1,000 more children.”

The city is stipulating that “Newell Stadium” – honoring a local naval officer killed in World War I – be included in the stadium’s new name.

A similar arrangement exists in Worcester, where a minor-league baseball team plays at what has traditionally been known as Fitton Field, on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross. To help pay for field improvements necessary to accommodate minor league baseball, naming rights were sold in 2005 to Hanover Insurance. The ballpark’s name is now Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field.