Council panel hesitant
to sell park name rights

Concern is raised about
commercialism and loss of tradition

Kapiolani Park renamed for a giant pizza-partying mouse?

"I don't think so," said Councilman Gary Okino, as he and others on the City Council Parks Committee opposed a bill that would allow the city to sell the rights to name city parks and facilities.

"I wouldn't want to see Kapiolani Park become Chuck E. Cheese Park," Okino said, referring to the chain of video arcade and pizza parlors with a giant mouse as a mascot.

"I think it'll be cheaper for me if my kids thought that Kapiolani Park was Chuck E. Cheese," quipped Councilman Todd Apo, who also expressed concern about the bill, saying it would cause problems for the city.

The City Council Parks Committee deferred taking action on the measure.

"There are a number of parks with very historic names. I'm not sure we want to be tampering with that," Committee Chairman Charles Djou said.

Mary Steiner, president of the Outdoor Circle, did not take a position on the bill but told the committee that her organization has opposed profit-making activities at other public sites, including Diamond Head Crater and the Pali Lookout.

City Parks Director Lester Chang said the city administration appreciated the effort in finding new ways to generate revenue for the city, but, "This is not the best way to do that."

Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz, who introduced the bill, said his intent was actually to focus on facilities within parks such as stadiums and ballfields. He plans to introduce another bill that would narrow the focus.