July 2004
North Dakota Sells Naming Rights
James Downey reporting from Bismark, ND
The Governor of North Dakota announced today that the state has entered into
a five-year deal with a major corporation to rename the state.
Republican Governor John Hoeven held a press conference to announce the agreement
with the Nike Corporation, which will bring $100 million per year to the state.
"This is relief for the hard-working people in North Dakota. That's $100
million per year in taxes they won't have to pay, almost 4% of our state budget.
And we won't even need to change the abbreviation for our state!"
While many states and municipalities in recent years have partnered up with
businesses to name a "State Soft Drink" or a "Favorite City Snack," this is the
first time that the naming rights for an entire state have been sold.
"Fundamentally, this isn't much different than selling the naming rights for a
stadium on a university campus," said Gov. Hoeven. "And it gets around
that whole 'North' problem we've confronted for years."
North Dakota, now to be officially named Nike Dakota, has debated changing its
name in the past, dropping "North" because of the perception that it decreased
tourism in the state by conveying a colder image.
When asked, the Governor denied that there would be any additional changes
associated with the partnership deal, and specifically said that state employees
would not be required to wear a Nike 'swoosh' on official uniforms, nor would
there be any changes to the official state emblem or flag. "Not at this
time. Those are matters we are going to explore with the new legislature
next year. Of course, Nike has been very understanding about this, and
realizes that there would be additional fees to take these steps."
Initial reaction in the state was positive. Leaders in the state
legislature, who were aware of the secret negotiations with Nike about the
name change, were largely supportive because of the extra revenue which would
be generated. However, one democratic leader, who preferred to speak off
the record, said "I'm all for finding alternative sources of revenue. But
leave it to a Hoeven to sell the name of the state. He's always been
gung-ho about privatizing state government. I guess we'll just have to
see how this plays in the election."
Like a number of other states, ND has a legislature which meets only every-other
year. Statewide elections will take place on Nov.2. Gov. Hoeven,
who was first elected to the office in 2000, is facing reelection on that date.
He is expected to win reelection with minimal difficulty.
