Wayne State's new Ilitch business school offers naming rights for auditorium, terrace and more

The Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business hopes to finalize additional naming rights deals with businesses and individuals in the next four months or so for facilities within its new building in The District Detroit — and some proposals have been fairly creative, business school Dean Robert Forsythe said. So far the university has reached at least two verbal agreements that may be finalized soon to help cover the balance of an estimated $50 million project cost for a new four-story, 120,000 square foot building. One naming rights deal under discussion will likely have a multimillion dollar value, with a corporate sponsor, Forsythe said. Another, for about $150,000, would be an individual naming deal for a single classroom overlooking Woodward Avenue on the new building’s eastern face — with a condition that the sponsor’s family be able to use the facility every year on Thanksgiving Day to overlook the America's Thanksgiving Parade, held by The Parade Co. "We’re not actually holding any classes on Thanksgiving Day, so we’d have no schedule conflict with something like that," Forsythe said. "I hadn’t thought about doing anything like that, but as you get into looking for naming opportunities, sometimes ideas like this come up." Other naming opportunities range from $5 million for a two-story atrium in the center of the U-shaped building and $3 million for an auditorium to $10,000 for a “sticky space” or student seating and lounging area, or $25,000 for a group meeting room.

Crain's Detroit Business
WMYD-TV 20
WXYZ-TV

 

View all news stories