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Falcon Stadium to be known as Greenwood Chevrolet Austintown Falcon Stadium
By ROBERT CONNELLY
AUSTINTOWN
Falcon Stadium will now be known as Greenwood Chevrolet Austintown Falcon Stadium after a unanimous vote by the school board.
Larry Jaeger, president of Hunter Sports Marketing of Cleveland, negotiated the name sponsorship. It is a 10-year deal worth $330,000, with half of that paid upon the signed agreement and the other half in five years.
The contract runs through June 30, 2025.
“A lot of companies were interested in this. It takes a real partnership for a company to step up with this type of money,” Jaeger said. “I think forward-thinking districts are taking a look at private and public partnerships and taking a look at a way to help facilitate the costs of these stadiums and take advantage of the marketable asset they have. And, likewise, companies like Greenwood are looking at this as a great way to use their marketing dollars and put their roots deep in the community.”
The board voted 5-0 Monday in support of the sponsorship at its meeting at Austintown Middle School. It will include 8-yard-long advertisements most likely painted on the field on opposite 20-yard lines, a sign or banner on the back of the grandstand, and the availability of a corner of an end zone for a car to be displayed during games.
Jaeger will receive 15 percent of the total $330,000 deal as compensation. He told the board he negotiated similar deals with Avon and Brunswick school districts.
The funds will go toward paying for the signage for Greenwood Chevrolet and other items. The rest of the funds will be given to the athletic department, and some of those funds will be given to the field-turf fund.
In a news release, Greg Greenwood, owner of Greenwood Chevrolet, said, “It’s our way of making a commitment to the community we serve and a decision we make from the heart.” The Austintown dealership is blocks away from the Austintown schools campus on Mahoning Avenue, between Idaho and Raccoon roads.
“We have a lot of events that come into Falcon Stadium. It’s not just about Friday night football,” said Kathy Mock, school board president.
She said Greg Greenwood is a “longtime, good neighbor to us at the Austintown schools, and our friendship is definitely growing, and we thank him and his staff for all they do for us here in Austintown.”
When asked if the specifics of the sponsorship would be available by Fitch’s first home game, Jaeger said, “The timeline is very aggressive to do that and have that done, but I think all parties are going to work toward that so we have a grand opening on the first home game.”
School officials pointed to Greenwood Chevrolet’s donating cars to be used by the Austintown Police Department for the D.A.R.E. (drug abuse resistance education) program.
In other board moves, it hired four teachers for Fitch effective Aug. 21. Jennifer Hykes will teach math. She comes with five years’ experience along with a master’s degree plus 15 hours of class beyond that degree from Ashland University. Her salary will be $44,952.
Jenifer Trigg will teach Spanish. She’s been a teacher for five years and has her master’s degree from Westminster College. Her salary will be $43,519.
Laura Mistovich-Walters and Theresa Dutton both will teach language arts. They have bachelor’s degrees from Youngstown State University. Both will start with a salary of $31,217.