| By WCLO anchor-reporter Neil Johnson |

Under a multi-pronged, long-term deal, the city of Janesville appears to be giving Mercyhealth exclusive rights to all health-care related advertising displayed at the Woodman’s Sports & Convention Center.

The city council approved the deal this week under a 20-year naming rights agreement after Janesville-based hospital and health care group Mercyhealth donated $1.5 million to help build the public-private ice hockey arena and sports and convention center.

Under the deal, the main ice sheet at Woodman’s Center would be named Mercyhealth Arena.

The agreement also would make Mercyhealth the only health care company in a 16-county area that would be allowed to display advertising at the 130,000-square-foot, city-owned Woodman’s Center facility.

Under one of several interrelated clauses in a 12-page legal agreement, the deal also gives Janesville-based Mercyhealth the right of first refusal to treat or hospitalize anyone ill or injured at the facility — a deal City Manager Kevin Lahner calls “acceptable.”

“In terms of rendering aid, that is 100% acceptable within the facility,” Lahner told the council during a brief discussion of the sweeping deal.

The council unanimously OK’d the agreement, along with a separate naming rights deal for convention center space at the Woodman’s Center that’s tied to a $500,000 donation Janesville’s Kennedy family gave through its philanthropic arm.

Lahner went on to characterize Mercyhealth’s omnibus naming rights deal, specifically the group’s sole advertising rights, as creating “some restrictions in the placement of competitors’ (advertising).”

Lahner says he doesn’t consider the agreement much different than Woodman’s Center naming rights that the city granted Woodman’s Food Market or the Kennedy family.

A restriction on display advertising by Mercyhealth’s competitors would not extend to temporary events such as trade shows hosted at the Woodman’s Center’s convention space. But companies would never be allowed–even temporarily–to put up any sign big enough that it upstaged any Mercyhealth signs displayed in or near Mercyhealth Arena and other parts of the Woodman’s Center.

Lahner says they city’s glad to oblige the multi-piece deal, given that Mercyhealth contributed funding for about 3% of the project’s overall construction price tag.

“We are happy to sell. If they’re going to help us pay and reduce the cost to the taxpayers…you can put your name on it,” Lahner said.

Among other deals in Mercy’s naming rights agreement:

• Mercyhealth would have a guarantee its logo was displayed prominently (and exclusively) at center ice and on all scoreboards.
• The city would be required to provide Mercyhealth a private room that Mercy employees could use whenever they saw fit to administer health care at the facility.
• Mercyhealth employees deemed to be actively working at events at the Woodman’s Center would get free admission.
• The city of Janesville would pay for the manufacture, installation and any ongoing, electrical operating costs of Mercyhealth’s signs.

On Tuesday, WCLO Radio attempted to contact, but was not immediately able to reach, a city of Janesville official authorized to speak on specific details Mercyhealth’s naming rights package — including the agreement’s clause that appears to bar health care competitors from advertising at the Woodman’s Center.