Scorpions land big name with Toyota sponsorship

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The Scorpions announced a presenting sponsorship with Toyota on Tuesday that is the first of its kind in the revamped North American Soccer League.

Scorpions owner Gordon Hartman declined to discuss specifics but described the sponsorship with the Japanese automobile giant as a multiyear, multimillion-dollar agreement.

“It's a major, major commitment,” team president Michael Hitchcock said. “We couldn't be happier.”

Toyota also will sponsor Morgan's Wonderland, the amusement park Hartman built to service special-needs individuals. Hartman, whose daughter Morgan was born with physical and cognitive challenges, has pledged all profits from the Scorpions to the park and other special-needs organizations.

It is believed to be among the largest corporate sponsorships ever signed by a San Antonio professional sports franchise outside of the Spurs. The Houston and Philadelphia franchises in Major League Soccer recently signed naming-rights deals averaging $2 million per year.

The Scorpions' new facility, under construction next to Heroes Stadium, will now be called Toyota Field. The Scorpions' new facility, under construction next to Heroes Stadium, will now be called Toyota Field. Photo: For The Express-News Photo: For The Express-News Image 1 of / 65 Caption Close Scorpions land big name with Toyota sponsorship 1 / 65 Back to Gallery

The deal includes naming rights for the Scorpions' soccer-specific stadium, now known as Toyota Field. The venue is in construction adjacent to Heroes Stadium, where the Scorpions are in the midst of their inaugural season in the NASL.

Hartman said the stadium, slated to be completed for next season, will initially hold 8,000 with the capability of expanding capacity up to 18,500.

Hitchcock recently said the Scorpions, who expect to clear a small profit this season, are projecting revenues to triple at Toyota Field.

Only one other NASL franchise, the Carolina RailHawks, has sold the naming rights for its stadium, WakeMed Soccer Park. (Sources said Tampa Bay, which plays at Progress Energy Park, does not net any income from that sponsorship.)

But while WakeMed Health and Hospitals is a small regional company, Toyota is a global brand with $18.6 billion in revenues last year and numerous assembly plants in the United States, including San Antonio.

Toyota owns the naming rights for at least two other soccer-specific stadiums, occupied by the MLS' Chicago Fire and Nagoya Grampus of the Japanese J-League. The company is also a title sponsor for numerous major soccer tournaments, including the 2014 World Cup.

Hartman said talks with the company began before the Scorpions took the field this spring.

They've since surprised even themselves, leading the NASL in attendance and atop the standings, where they sit in first place by six points with five matches remaining in the regular season.

How much money from the Toyota sponsorship will be funneled back into the team remains to be seen.

Manager Tim Hankinson said he hopes to increase the player payroll, now at roughly $400,000, by up to 30 percent for next season.

“We'd like to keep as much of the core together as we can,” he said. “We'd also ... like to add quality as well as depth. And that takes money. We've had preliminary discussions on what our budget would need to look like to do that. But I don't know if that has anything to do with how these funds are used.”

dmccarney@express-news.net