Sandy may give $10K to bowl game

The Sandy City Council is slated to give $10,000 in a sponsorship for the Top of the Mountains Bowl, a junior college football game to be played at Rio Tinto Stadium in December.

The seven elected officials will vote Tuesday evening on whether to support the Snow College event. The bowl is one of six junior college championship events in the league.

If spent, the money would be used for things like radio and television spots during the Dec. 5 game. The funds could also ensure a space for the city logo on tickets, banners and the bowl Web site.

A city staff report informs elected officials that value received as a direct result of the bowl would total $10,900. The staff projected local hotel and sales taxes to be collected during the game but also added up the banners, the free suite and tickets and advertising "values" such as the radio spots and electronic ads.

City officials looked at the Top of the Mountains Bowl, played at Rio Tinto Stadium in 2008, in projecting revenues for 2009.

"If you get a return on your investment, then that's money coming back into the city," said Council Chairman Bryant Anderson. "You really aren't losing any money."

For the Major League Soccer All-Star Game, Sandy donated $15,000. While the upcoming bowl game won't be as prestigious, it fits well with Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan's original intent for the stadium, said city spokeswoman Trina Duerkson.

"When Mayor Dolan first began with the vision of the stadium and began speaking with the executives from Real, the hope was to bring local sports to the venue — local sports at any level," Duerkson said. "That's the type of partnership that the mayor wanted to see take place."

Anderson also wants to involve city residents in the bowl game.

"For families, it would be a fun thing to do to go and attend the game," he said.

In addition to the $10,000 sponsorship, the Sandy City Council will consider spending about $2,350 on production costs for a video to be shown on large screens inside the stadium. That video could later be used online or on television, Duerkson said.

The funding source for the sponsorship is at the sole discretion of the council, but the staff report recommends spending $5,000 from the council contingency budget and $5,000 from the general fund. Half the money could go directly to the Utah Sports Commission for an indirect sponsorship, Duerkson said.

The staff report is available online at sandy.utah.gov.

e-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com