JASON FRANCHUK - Daily Herald | Posted: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 11:00 pm
When Utah Valley State College announced it would become a university next summer, Orem Owlz majority owner Jeff Katofsky sent a congratulatory note to school officials.
He said he did the same thing when the school announced June 13 that it had a lucrative long-term sponsor for its previously nameless baseball stadium.
"They needed the money. I was thrilled for them," Katofsky said.
But he wasn't excited enough to let his minor league team play at something named Brent Brown Ballpark.
Instead, he refers to the sparkling three-year-old stadium on UVSC's campus as "Home of the Owlz," a name the baseball team's high officials have demanded the media adhere to since the Parkway Crossing nameplate evaporated in 2005.
That decision to avoid the facility's new formal name, which has bred increasing contempt from the Owlz in the past two weeks, is cocking a lot of eyebrows at UVSC.
The school believed it had an all-encompassing title sponsor that the Owlz would contractually honor. But the team, which is in town from June until September, is considering taking on a name of its own or, at the very least, using a generic name that makes no mention of Brown.
The Owlz also submitted notice last weekend to all media outlets in the area -- radio, television, newspapers -- that if they don't comply with the team's terms, they will be forbidden access to the minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
"It's totally baffling to everyone at UVSC that the Owlz would do this," said Val Hale, the school's vice president of advancement and marketing. "The school owns the ballpark, the school owns the rights and keeps all of the revenue [from the Brown sponsorship].
"It's in the contract. It's black and white, no question to it."
The Owlz are saying they have written proof, from a February meeting last year, that they were to be more involved in the process of finding a sponsor. Hale said the two sides joined forces with Sponsor IQ for a year at the suggestion of Katofsky. UVSC paid the marketing agency upfront and a commission was promised. But nothing developed in a yearlong span.
There is debate about when, or if, that relationship expired.
The Owlz stood to make money off that deal, Hale said, which is part of the reason why he believes they're reluctant to play along with the ballpark's name. It came about when the local automobile dealer promised $1 million over the course of 10 years (and also came with a matching grant from Ira Fulton of Arizona).
Katofsky said his stance isn't a grudge, and that he has reasons to steer clear of Brown Ballpark. He has feared earning the wrath of fines from Minor League Baseball -- maybe even in the form of six figures, he said -- for allowing the Owlz to be associated with a name the organization has not approved.
Katofsky said he has not seen the contract between UVSC and Brown. He concedes his ideology may be "a little paranoid," but also believes it is prudent to order local media -- at the cost of having access to the Owlz pulled if there isn't compliance -- to call the stadium by the Owlz's more generic title.
"We have to protect our assets," he said. "I wouldn't deliberately break the rules I have to abide by. That would just be stupid."
However, contacted Tuesday, the MiLB offices in Florida said that it's a dead issue. Media relations spokesman Jim Ferguson, speaking on behalf of the company's legal counsel, said he's not aware why at this point the Owlz would refuse to use the stadium's proper name. The organization has seen the naming rights contract and does not intend to take further action.
UVSC officials point out that Salt Lake City's EnergySolutions Arena used to be the Delta Center. Other tenants than the Utah Jazz, like Arena Football's Utah Blaze, have not tried to rename the facility during their seasons.
Katofsky, who has a background in law but is now a commercial real estate developer in southern California, said "we have other issues with the school as well."
He emphasizes that he does not want a piece of the profits UVSC earned by joining forces with Brown, who could not be reached by the Daily Herald.
"That's their deal, and we're happy for them," Katofsky said.
Those who know Utah County car dealer Brown say he's not particularly interested in sports. He even admitted at the ceremony in his honor that he quit playing baseball at a young age. But his reason to attach his name to UVSC comes in three forms: his wife, Kim, is on the school's foundation board. Two of the Brown children attend the school, and a third will enroll this fall.
And the stadium, which can seat up to 4,500, is at a highly visible area off I-15 on University Parkway, though Brown has downplayed the business aspect.
Another highly successful businessman, Katofsky, said the contract with UVSC also stipulates that there's no law regarding what the minor league team calls its summer home.
This is another example of a relationship that has had its rocky moments. Tension may have started at the very beginning, at the end of 2004, when Katofsky bought the team and inherited an already-signed contract
"I know there's parts of that contract I'd love to change, and I'm sure (UVSC) feels the same way," Katofsky said.
The fallout of Parkway Crossing as a title sponsor left the school scrambling for money. The Browns expressed interest last February.
Katofsky estimates that he's pumped in about $800,000 into upgrades that he believes have made the stadium one of the nicest in the minor leagues, particularly at the rookie league level. Of course, UVSC benefits from the majority of those improvements, too.
The two sides have sometimes struggled to find a balance of power.
In April 2005, a meeting agenda from UVSC revealed the Owlz "exceeded their authority in giving out a 12-month advertising agreement." The issue was resolved five months later, according to the paperwork.
Katofsky coaches his sons' youth baseball teams in California and will not return to Utah until the middle of July. He said no one from the school has called him regarding a resolution.
"They have my number and my e-mail address," he said. "I'm not very hard to get ahold of."
Despite the bickering, the future of rookie-league ball in Orem looks bright.
Katofsky said he has already approached the school about another 10-year option on a leasing contract that still has eight years remaining, counting this summer.
But the Owlz organization say they're at a stalemate on the naming issue.
"While we enjoy the media coverage given us by the various media outlets, we will ask once again, this time with legal documentation to supplement the request, that all media references to the stadium be 'Home of the Owlz' and not Brent Brown Ballpark, Brown Ballpark, or any other variation of that name," Owlz general manager Zachary Fraser wrote in an e-mail dispersed to media outlets last Saturday that Katofsky approved.
"Our ownership group has stated that if this is not the case, we will unfortunately have to not allow violating members of media groups access to the stadium, players, or staff during our season."
The Owlz were told about the name change May 31 and they had no representation at the Brown ceremony.
On opening night, June 19, there were issues in the stadium regarding banners. One was a Brent Brown banner that Owlz officials tried to cover before being stopped by UVSC reps.
Also, the Owlz and UVSC had double-booked a space for advertising. However, that conflict was quickly resolved with some minor shuffling. Katofsky said that a solution was created because the two sides spoke.
There are moments when they can get along like peanuts and Cracker Jack.
"That's what happens when you get together and talk it out," he said.
Katofsky laughs slightly at the thought of unity, but he's not giving in.
"I know our deal. Our deal with the school was very clear," he said. "I am very happy UVSC got sponsorship, but they can't sell ours. For all of us (in the Owlz ownership group), it's a labor of love first and a business second. But it's still a business."
Hale and other UVSC officials wouldn't speculate on action the school would take if the Owlz tried a rare move -- a sponsor of their own for the stadium for three months out of the year.
"It's certainly possible," Katofsky said.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.