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Frederick debates naming-rights deal for Keys ballpark

Harry Grove Stadium

The possibility of a naming-rights deal for Harry Grove Stadium, home of the Frederick Keys (High Class A; Carolina League), is riling some citizens who worry about diminishing the Grove legacy.

The issue: when the Keys and the city negotiated the most recent 10-year Harry Grove Stadium lease, there was a provision allowing the Keys to work out a naming-rights deal, with the two sides negotiating a split in revenues. The Keys have retained a firm to shop those rights, with the city updated on those efforts yesterday.

Of course, a deal like this is fraught with peril. Some alderpeople say the city deserves the majority of naming-rights proceeds to cover an annual subsidy, while others don’t want to see any name change at all. Putting together a deal will be a challenge for Keys management. From the Frederick News-Post:

Relatives urged the board to keep the Harry Grove name.

“To keep the agreement made between M.J. Grove and the city of Frederick, we believe it is important to keep the name Harry Grove Stadium as part of any name given to the field or the stadium in the future,” Virginia Grove Matthias, a granddaughter of Harry Grove, said during the meeting. “Harry Grove was a very important leader in Frederick and a great baseball fan. It is fitting that this stadium in Frederick carry his name.”

The mayor and aldermen agreed that removing the Grove name is not an option.

The sale of naming rights is being coordinated by Team Services.

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