Stadium board may hire marketer Some say license plate sales aren't where they should be By Christopher Clough News-Chronicle The Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District Board may hire a marketing consultant to help boost the sale of Packers license plates. A portion of the fees collected for the specialty plates is earmarked to help offset Brown County's portion of the $295 million renovation to Lambeau Field. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation offers the gold plates for $25 a year, plus a one-time $15 fee. Users also must pay the annual $45 registration fee that all vehicle owners pay. The extra $25 goes to a fund administered by the district for operating and maintenance costs at Lambeau Field, minus $35,000 for DOT expenses. District counsel Michael Dwyer indicated in an Aug. 7, 2001, letter that sports marketing firm JPM Sports could contract directly with the DOT to find ways to increase Packers' plate sales. At the time, he wrote the DOT could use a portion of the funds raised by the special plate sale to pay for marketing efforts. But in a March 8, 2002, letter, Dwyer said the revenues raised by the plates can only be deposited into the account they were originally earmarked for. That account can only be used to pay the stadium's operating and maintenance costs. "There was some talk that we would be able to work with the DOT to market the plates," said district executive director Patrick Webb. "But the state statutes are very limited in what we can do with our funds." "Except for the deduction to pay the initial costs... and any licensing fees due the Packers," Dwyer wrote, "all funds are to be credited to the appropriation account. Nowhere in this statutory scheme is there any provision for paying any marketing fees to either the district or a third party." Dwyer also said the either the DOT or the Packers could help pay for a marketing firm from its own pocket. But he wrote that was unlikely since neither entity would benefit from additional plate sales. Webb said the district could pay for marketing out of its own operating fund, if it chooses to do so. It gets $100,000 annually to cover expenses. Reports have surfaced that Packer plate sales have not met expectations, but Webb said it's too early in the process to reach that conclusion. As of March 15, 9,724 plates had been sold. "The people telling me we're not meeting expectations are those telling me they can help us for a fee," he said. "We have to make sure we don't spend more than we take in increased sales. We're open to suggestions." FYI The Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District Board meets at 4 p.m. today in Suite 200 of the Lombardi Center, 1400 Lombardi Ave. The meeting is open to the public. For more information, call 592-1777.