When it comes to sponsoring a bathroom, money talks

SCRIPPS HOWARD

BOULDER, Colo. — It’s an offer the University of Colorado couldn’t flush away: A Boulder venture capitalist paid $25,000 for the naming rights to a bathroom in the Boulder campus’ ATLAS building.

And so it is that the second-floor men’s bathroom in the high-tech hub has Brad Feld’s name on it and a plaque with some words of wisdom from the donor: “The best ideas often come at inconvenient times. Don’t ever close your mind to them.”

Feld — managing director at Foundry Group and Mobius Venture Capital, both based in Boulder — said he tried to make a similar offer a few years ago to his alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But the school, after considering whether a donor could have naming rights to a bathroom, rejected his offer.

“I just wanted a plaque outside of the men’s room to inspire people as they walk in to do their business,” Feld said.

So he mentioned his failed attempt to John Bennett, director of ATLAS, or Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society.

As CU’s Boulder campus goes through a construction boom, opening up new and renovated buildings, it has increasingly used naming opportunities to help fund the projects.

Feld serves on the National Center for Women and Information Technology, which is housed in the 66,000-square-foot ATLAS building that opened in fall 2006.

He said there seems to be a good response to his gift.

“Sometimes my best ideas have come to me while I’m in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet or taking a shower,” Feld said. “It’s a good time to reflect. It’s a quiet moment.”

Nathan Ertz, a CU junior finance major who works in the ATLAS building, said he’s happy the school accepted the donation.

The ATLAS building, a $31.1 million project, has other naming opportunities. They include the black-box performance studio naming rights for $1 million; the tower for $500,000; benches for $25,000; and auditorium seats for $1,000.