How King County Parks Department is increasing its revenue and visibility

Naming rights

Group Health signed a three-year contract at $120,000 per year to have its name on the Velodrome at Marymoor Park. Microsoft signed a one-year, $100,000 contract to provide Wi-Fi access at Marymoor and White Center parks and at the King County Aquatic Center. Aside from 15 to 20 "discreet" signs in the three parks, all advertising takes place in the virtual world when people log on, parks program manager Jessie Israel said. The county is working on renewing both contracts.

Concessions

Subway sandwich stands in Marymoor Park and at the King County Aquatic Center bring in about $5,000 a month for parks. The county recently also brought in the Redmond-based Blazing Bagels to Marymoor.

New amenities

Starbucks paid $250,000 to sponsor 17 new kiosks offering trail maps. The kiosks, made of renewable Tigerwood, feature the company's logo and Web site. Group Health also sponsored the county's popular bicycle map. Bottled-water company Dasani, a Coca-Cola product, last year gave Marymoor 20 bicycles and 20 lockers with its logo for a free bike system in the park. The county is looking for a sponsor for two new reflexology paths at Marymoor and White Center parks.

Events

Five years ago, county parks program manager Jessie Israel said she never would have guessed that park-goers would accept Cirque du Soleil performances. But the May event at Marymoor Park generated $550,000 in gross revenues with no complaints, she said.

Community partners

The parks' Strategic Partnership and Enterprise Initiatives team looks for ways to make park areas or programs self-sustaining. The nonprofit Serve Our Dog Areas oversees Marymoor's dog park, for example, and participants in the Cougar Mountain Trail Running Series are encouraged to volunteer on the trail system, saving money on staffing. In 2004, volunteers put in 75,000 hours of work on county parks.

The idea is to come up with low or no-cost promotions that generate media and word-of-mouth attention. Projects include the burrito hunt and a temporary minipark in downtown Seattle a few weeks ago. Employees rented four parking spaces, brought in sod and a dog and created a "park" for two hours during which staff handed out 1,100 cards with the department's Web site.

Lisa Chiu