from
Al Tarkington, former
Mayor of the City formerly
known as Del Mar
Photo
illustrations by Art
Olson.
The
San Diego Union revealed that
Tim Fennel, CEO of the
Del Mar Fairgrounds
(not to be confused
with the “San
Diego County Fair”)
recently announced that
the Fair has sold “Presenting
Rights” to
Albertsons for $1.3
million. Mr. Fennel
had been looking for “naming
rights” for
the actual state-owned
fairgrounds, and is
purportedly still looking
for someone to purchase
naming rights for the
property. Fennell went
on to propose “presenting
rights” for
different events.
This
would appear to go
hand in hand with the
rumor that the Fairgrounds
is looking to put up
giant illuminated flashing
billboards on both
sides of I-5 next to
the San Dieguito Lagoon.
Del
Mar officials initially
scoffed at the naming
rights idea, but
with
the current economic
crisis and the red
ink at City Hall,
they
have given it more
thought.
In closed session,
the Council reached
out to several supermarket
chains for naming
rights
for Del Mar. Besides,
renaming the City
would
remove the stigma
of
Del Martians being
considered “elitist.” The
Council narrowed
the
field down to two
finalists.
And, in typical
Del
Mar fashion the
City
Council is calling
for a special plebiscite
where the citizens
will vote on changing
the name of the
City to either Whole
Foods Market or Trader
Joes.
As
with the fairgrounds,
naming rights could
be extended to smaller
venues. Possibilities
discussed might include “Dexter’s
Deli Dog Beach,” “Bully’s
Ranger Patrol,” or
the “Crest
Canyon presented by
Jelley Properties.” The
City is also considering
changing its motto from “Where
the Turf Meets the Surf” to “Where
Your Name in the Sand
will be Grand.”

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