Yellowstone County, Mont., asked to review stadium advertising deal

Jul 30, 2009 (Billings Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- DAKT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Rimrock Auto Group is again $50,000 behind on its payments for naming rights at MetraPark, and the advertising company behind the deal is asking Yellowstone County to reconsider its contract.

Daktronics Sports Marketing, the South Dakota company that manages advertising at MetraPark, approached the county recently and asked if it would consider a revised payment plan that would ease some of the burden on Rimrock Auto Group, county officials said.

"The time has come for Daktronics to bring some action if we're not getting paid," Commissioner Jim Reno said. "Our contract is with Daktronics. We don't have the ability to unilaterally say to Rimrock, 'Pay up or we take the sign down.' That is truly a Daktronics call."

Reno said county officials had spoken with Daktronics officials and didn't have anything in writing regarding the proposed contract changes. Daktronics officials didn't return a call seeking comment. County finance director Scott Turner said Daktronics was proposing that Rimrock make smaller payments this year but then larger payments with interest for the remaining eight years of the contract.

After he gets guidance from the commissioners, Turner will send a response letter to Daktronics. Reno said he'd like to see some concessions from Rimrock Auto Group before the county could agree to reduced payments.

"Our response will be, 'Well, you can't have your cake and eat it, too,' " Reno said.

As part of its 10-year, $1 million advertising deal, Rimrock also was given exclusive rights to hold car sales in the parking lot at MetraPark and can display cars during MontanaFair. Also, no other car dealerships are allowed to advertise at MetraPark unless their contracts preceded the Daktronics deal.

MetraPark general manager Bill Dutcher said Rimrock is required to pay rental fees for three of the annual sales but holds one sale rent-free every year.

"We've had other people that have inquired, and we've said no to car sales," Dutcher said.

In late 2007, the county signed a deal with Daktronics that brought in 16 advertisers and provided new equipment such as a scoreboard, televisions in concourses and advertising signs. The deal also changed the name of the main arena to the Rimrock Auto Arena, since Rimrock Auto Group signed on as the biggest advertiser. The next-biggest advertiser is Yellowstone Bank, which agreed to pay $50,000 a year for 10 years.

Rimrock has missed several quarterly payments of $25,000 each. The company was $50,000 behind this spring, but then paid $25,000. It has since missed another payment, leaving it in a $50,000 hole.

The county's revenue is dependent on advertisers paying their bills. The Daktronics contract with the county is structured so that the first $195,000 in annual revenue goes to Daktronics. The next $80,000 goes to the county, followed by the next $25,000 going to Daktronics. Once annual revenue exceeds $300,000, the county receives 65 percent.

Reno said Daktronics had collected the first $195,000 this year, and that the county has received about $76,000 so far. So the county is about $4,000 short of reaching the $80,000 cap before revenue starts flowing back to Daktronics. If Rimrock Auto Group paid its $50,000 bill tomorrow, the county would receive the first $4,000, and the next $25,000 would go to Daktronics. After that, the county would receive 65 percent of what's left, or $13,650.

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