Frontier Communications is extending its Rochester Red Wings naming rights deal, ensuring the Class AAA International League team will be playing at Frontier Field for 10 more seasons.
The firm will pay $275,000 in the first year of the Red Wings naming rights deal. That number will rise annually, with the amount the lesser of 5 percent or the Consumer Price Index. Now, that’s more than the original Red Wings naming rights deal, which was 20 years valued at $3.5 million, or $175,000 a season. But there is an offset for the increase: Monroe County will pay Frontier Communications $75,000 annually to provide free WiFi services at the ballpark.
Besides the free WiFi, there are other upgrades to Frontier Field potentially in the works for 2016 and 2017. From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:
The Monroe County Legislature next month plans to consider a $914,765 contract to replace all stadium lighting with LED fixtures, including lighting of the playing field, concourse and parking lot.
“It’s literally just about every light fixture in the stadium,” said Jason Kennedy, chief of engineering and facilities management for the county.
The project with Smartwatt Energy of Fairport would replace more than 1,920 fixtures, removing some, as the more energy-efficient fixtures also should improve lighting overall. Savings on electricity and maintenance are estimated at $88,000 per year, and therefore will more than pay for the improvements over the 15- to 20-year expected life of the fixtures.
We are expecting to see plenty of ballpark lighting upgrades in the next few years. Now that the cost of LED lighting has dropped to a very affordable level, upgrade like this one will pay for themselves.