Sports venue design and development firm AECOM will place its name on the storied center for sports administration at Ohio Univ. as part of a four-year gift agreement that the school says is the first of its kind in sports business education. The deal, scheduled to be announced Monday, includes a $65,000 annual gift and discretionary spending that the firm says will be worth at least that much each year, funding student travel, scholarships and projects. It extends a relationship that began a decade ago, when OU alum Barry Silberman recommended that the architecture firm then known as Ellerbe Becket connect with the school and its influential alumni base to strengthen its sports brand. “Being architects, our plan was to create this really beautiful coffee table book that we thought the clients would love,” said AECOM Dir of Sports Jon Nieman. “Barry said, ‘That’s the worst idea ever.’” Instead, he suggested that if they wanted to publish something, it should be a chapter in a text book used by students who eventually would work in the industry and become their prospects and clients. The AECOM architects eventually wrote a text book chapter in conjunction with OU professors. But, more importantly, they built a relationship with the program that led to a more frequent presence, with executives visiting the campus and providing case studies that took students inside ongoing projects, such as Barclays Center in Brooklyn. “As that building was going up, our kids were seeing some aspects of it before almost everyone but them and the Nets,” said Jim Kahler, Exec Dir of the center for sports administration, which this week will launch its 50th anniversary commemoration. “They’ve been a tremendous resource for our students. And, going forward, we’re going to be an even greater resource for them."
PROVIDING MORE THAN SERVICES: With its name on the center, all the practical research that comes from the program will be branded as coming from the AECOM Center, which the firm hopes will help it build its reputation for providing more than the services for which sports architecture firms are typically known. “We want people to see us as the resource, the think tank, the thought leaders,” Nieman said. “We’re looking to create a brand halo that distinguishes us from another architect, engineer or contractor that you can beat down for the lowest fee because they’re just like any of the others. And we’re building relationships that will stand the test of time.” As part of the deal, the firm will fund a telepresence lounge branded as the AECOM zone, which will allow second-year masters’ students to connect to AECOM’s offices, as well as to OU alumni working around the world. While Niemuth said he anticipates keeping AECOM’s name on the program for as long as Ohio chooses, the contract allows for it to take a lesser role if the school were to receive a larger gift from a donor willing to provide an endowment.
