Here’s an idea to climb out of budget

Written by Mary Perren Miller | 01 March 2010

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. –  I pity the next governor.  He or she is walking into a budget pitfall deeper than the Cumberland Gap, with no relief in sight. Economists expect the state’s finances to bottom out in June with an estimated $930 million deficit.
Voters have shown time and again their steadfast opposition to a state income tax. Politicians know that running on a platform of tax reform is political suicide.
Meanwhile, interest groups with stakes in issues like health care, education and state employee compensation are all clamoring for their slivers of the pie, regardless of how small. All of this must be done while balancing the state’s budget. Unlike the feds, Tennessee can’t print money. That means the state has to make do with whatever income is generated.
Gov. Phil Bredesen has set the precedent of matching recurring expenses with recurring revenues during his eight years in office. Regardless of whether you like his choices, Bredesen’s budgeting has kept the state’s budget hole from getting any deeper.
This certainly leaves few choices for the next administration and General Assembly. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I’m sure quite a bit of brainstorming is taking place in political boiler-room’s from Mountain City to Memphis as candidates try to figure out ways to overcome the political albatross.
Here’s a suggestion from a non-politician that was inspired by a recent event in Nashville. The downtown arena, known since 2007 as the Sommet Center is getting a new name. 
It will soon be known as the Bridgestone Arena, as in the tire manufacturer whose North American regional office is based in Nashville.
The name change is the fourth in 14 years for the hockey and concert venue. It was originally known as the Nashville Arena until Gaylord, as in Opryland Hotel, bought the naming rights in 1999.  Through 2007 the Gaylord Entertainment Center sounded more like a piece of living room furniture than a sports venue. The name changed briefly to the Nashville Arena again in 2007 before Cool Springs-based Sommet Group stepped in to foot the naming rights bill.
The Nashville Predators and Sommet Group had a falling-out over naming rights late last year. That’s when the search for a new corporate sponsor started.
So how does this tie in to the state’s financial woes?
Easily. Selling naming rights for state buildings, space in the House and Senate chambers and other state-owned venues could bring in billions of dollars for the state with nary a whisper of an income tax.
Tennessee certainly isn’t lacking in large companies that should be willing to lend a helping hand considering the tax considerations they’ve been given over the years.
I can see it now; The Dell Tennessee State Capitol, the Nissan War Memorial Building, the Pilot Oil Snodgrass Tennessee Tower, the Bridgestone Conservation Hall or perhaps the Pringles James K. Polk Building.
Those are just some suggestions for building exteriors. Interiors present a whole new set of sponsorship opportunities. Deals could include signs in the House and Senate Committee room and streaming crawls, similar to those on the Weather Channel and Headline News, on all of the closed-circuit television sets throughout the Legislative Plaza and Capitol.
Of course there are the obvious restroom ads in the stalls and above the urinals, similar to those seen in restaurants and other popular venues. Talk about a captive audience.
The possibilities are endless in the chambers, where sponsorship signs can line the walls, of course in perfect view of the television cameras. Corporations can sponsor everything from calls to order, consent calendars, motions to recess and adjourn and other parliamentary matters.
Of course the sponsorships will have to stop short of votes on legislation. We wouldn’t want anyone to think the state is for sale, would we?
Mary Perren Russell has covered state house politics in Tennessee for the past decade as a correspondent for both the Tennessee Radio Network and Metro Networks/Westwood One. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .