10 advertising spots available at pool

Local businesses soon will be able to pass out free tickets, set up kiosks on site and purchase naming rights to one of the multiple features at Freedom Springs Greenwood Aquatic Park.

The Greenwood Parks Department introduced roughly 10 advertising opportunities inside Freedom Springs that, if sold, could bring in close to $200,000 a year.

Local businesses can purchase exclusive naming rights to the canopy awning over the slide deck, the lazy river, shelter pavilions, cabanas and “funbrellas,” Parks and Recreation Director Rob Taggart said.

The canopy awning is $20,000 per year and is the most expensive ad space because it can be seen from Averitt Road, Taggart said.

All of the partnerships will be sold on a four-year deal and range from $3,000 to $20,000 per year. The parks department will use the money to help with upkeep of that portion of the park, ordering new tubes when needed and a new canopy awning every three to four years.

All advertising deals allow the companies to be featured on the Freedom Springs website, set up a kiosk at Freedom Springs to promote and advertise its business and company name placement at various spots around Freedom Springs.

The canopy awning and shelter pavilion ad spaces will allow the business to conduct one private party after hours, Taggart said. Freedom Springs’ shelter pavilions are the second-most-expensive at $15,000 per year.

The advertisement spaces allow local businesses to partner with Greenwood’s new aquatic center and in return help the park with maintaining the quality of the facility.

Next, the city hopes businesses will incorporate the pool into their own promotions.

Businesses can get 250 tickets to pass out and give away to customers. Each ticket will have the company’s logo, and the park will include the business’ logo and name on the website and around the park.

The businesses will be billed at $8 per ticket for only the number used, city spokeswoman Molly Laut said.

Franklin Family Aquatic Center has similar opportunities for local businesses, selling ad space on “funbrellas” and allowing a business to pay for its name and logo to be featured. A local dermatologist office also provides free sunscreen, but that is the only advertising partnership offered in the park.

Franklin does not count ad sales toward revenue and instead uses the money to cover replacement equipment and facility maintenance costs, Parks Department Director Chip Orner said.

Officials hopes Freedom Springs’ advertisement revenue will be a boost, though. The pool consulting firm Counsilman-Hunsaker predicted Greenwood would spend, at minimum, $200,000 more per year to operate the pool park than it would earn from admissions or renting the facility for parties.

Whether the revenue brought in from advertisements would impact that $200,000 gap is unknown, Taggart said.

“They want to be involved,” Laut said of area businesses. “It’s all about the relationship with these companies.”