Stadium Won’t Be Named for Private Prison Company
Source: NYT
Sports stadiums have been named for fast food companies, office supply chains, and banks, but apparently there is one sector of the economy that is not welcome in the sports world: the private prison industry.
Florida Atlantic University announced late Monday that the Geo Group Foundation, the charitable arm of the private prison corporation, planned to withdraw its $6 million gift for what was to be called GEO Group Stadium, citing discomfort at being drawn into a debate about civil rights and privatization.
In a statement, GEO said that backing out of the deal was in the best long-term interest of the university.
What was originally intended as a gesture of GEOs good will to financially assist the universitys athletic scholarship program has surprisingly evolved into an ongoing distraction to both of our organizations, said George Zoley, the chairman of the GEO Group, who is a graduate of Florida Atlantic.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/sports/ncaafootball/stadium-wont-be-named-for-private-prison-company.html
Bozita
(26,955 posts)Strange stuff!
Paulie
(8,462 posts)But why do it for just goodwill unless its the kind of goodwill used in accounting.
DinahMoeHum
(21,815 posts)"Owlcatraz" is in reference to FAU's team nickname the Owls.
A few links to the controversy:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/173623/victory-stopping-owlcatraz
http://stopowlcatraz.blogspot.com/
http://www.edgeofsports.com/2013-02-24-819/index.html
Way to go, FAU students, faculty and alumni!!
ellisonz
(27,711 posts)shenmue
(38,506 posts)Names of locally known individuals, or the veterans, or something people-centered anyway. They can promote their business enough, they can buy signage.
SunSeeker
(51,745 posts)Earth_First
(14,910 posts)rather than hundred million dollar profits by the NCAA.
olddots
(10,237 posts)I'm still trying to figure out what the new Boston Garden is named after .
frylock
(34,825 posts)the fuck?
MindPilot
(12,693 posts)In a rare moment of honesty...