Sports Authority? That would be us

A problem has popped up with the $30 million chunk of change Delco is chipping in to build a stadium in Chester in hopes of luring a Major League Soccer franchise.

OK, it’s not really a problem. Or maybe better said it’s my problem.
To facilitate all this soccer mania, Delaware County will create an entity to keep an eye on its investment, in essence making the county a partner with the folks looking to build the stadium in the shadow of the Commodore Barry Bridge in Chester.

To that end, as expected County Council Tuesday passed a measure to do just that.

So what’s the problem? The new entity, the Delaware County Sports Authority, would own the stadium and the land, keeping a close eye on the county’s money, which will not, by the way, include any tax dollars.
Delaware County Sports Authority? Sound familiar? Where have I heard that before?

Yep, you got it. I stare at it first thing every morning.

If you have a print edition of the Daily Times handy, you might know where this is headed. Grab a copy. Flip it over. Look at the masthead, right there under Times Sports.

See what is says? Delaware County’s Sports Authority. We’ve referred to our sports section that way for years.

That does not mean we’re going to be in business with the county. It does mean we’re excited about another huge economic blockbuster coming to the Chester waterfront.

So here’s my proposal for the county: You can have the name. Actually, we’ll share it with you.

In exchange, we’d gladly accept the naming rights to the new stadium. Daily Times Park has a nice ring to it.

Somehow, I don’t think the county is going to be all that receptive to my idea.

So how about this: If the county and their partners are successful in landing a Major League Soccer franchise, I hereby offer the newspaper’s services to canvass our readers to come up with a name for the new franchise.

I’ll even throw out the first suggestion.

Drawing on a couple of proud giants with very close ties to both the city and county, I hereby suggest the new team be called the Chester Sun.
The stadium would be a stone’s throw from what once was the juggernaut known as Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. A few miles away in Marcus Hook, Sun Co. remains an economic powerhouse. It has run a refinery there forever, along with others in the region. So, Sun’s headquarters are in downtown Philly. We won’t hold that against them.
In addition, the whole idea’s biggest boosters are a group called the Sons of Ben. So it’s not exactly spelled the same. They could still feed off it.

Hey, they might even draw people who think the team is a spinoff from the legendary British Man-Chester United. We’ll take credit for that, too.
Besides, it would be a headline writer’s dream. Brilliant Sun, Burned by Sun. Sun eclipsed. Sun down. Sun up. The possibilities are endless.

Chester Sun.
Let it shine.

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