The Bay Park board sets naming rights policy

Before you break out your checkbook to fund plans for a sprawling public park on the city’s bayfront, know this: You’re probably not going to be able to get the place named in your honor.

Officials are plotting out the future of The Bay Sarasota, a project that intends to transform more than 50 acres of city-owned land surrounding the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall into public open space. As part of that process, the Bay Park Improvement Board met Monday and approved a naming rights policy for the site.

Although the policy creates a path for large donors to have a portion of the park named after them, those spearheading the planning process don’t foresee core components bearing the names of gift-givers.

“Somebody coined the phrase the ‘no-naming rights policy,’ because the idea is The Bay Park is going to be called The Bay Park,” said Cathy Layton, chair of The Bay Park Conservancy.

The policy states that, as a rule, naming any feature of the park is not desired, and any naming should be done sparingly. To merit consideration for an exception, a donor must make a substantial commitment to the park — $1 million over three years toward capital or operating costs, plus an additional $250,000 toward the park’s endowment.

Layton noted that so far, The Bay’s largest donors do not have their names on any part of the park. Members of the Bay Park Improvement Board approved the recommended naming rights policy in a unanimous vote, expressing support for the guidelines in the document.

“It should be the people’s park forever,” County Commissioner Nancy Detert said.

Events calendar

Although the first fill phase of The Bay isn’t set for completion until summer 2022, members of the public can spend the next several months visiting the park site to partake in concerts, yoga classes, nature walks and more.

The Bay Park Conservancy announced its first season of free programs and events Tuesday. The group shared a calendar of offerings guided by public input gathered during the planning process. The Bay leadership has said it intends to take an experimental approach to programming at the park, allowing community feedback to determine the sorts of activities that will take place on the property.

For more information on programs and events, visit thebaysarasota.org/calendar.