Editorial: Elk Grove thinks big with Bahamas Bowl sponsorship
Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson has never been afraid to think big.
Searching for a highlight to draw attention to the village's 50th anniversary celebration in 2006, he came up with The Tour of Elk Grove, a major pro and amateur cycling event that drew the best bicyclists from around the world.
Envisioned as a sports companion of sorts with the Arlington Million horserace, The Tour of Elk Grove became a part of a suburban August sports showcase for seven more summers before it ended, presumably because of scheduling conflicts with USA Cycling and the Union Cycliste Internationale.
A year ago, concerned about the health hazards of smoking, he proposed making Elk Grove Village the first municipality in the country to ban tobacco sales, despite the loss of tax revenue it would have meant for village coffers.
"It's pretty hypocritical," he said, "for government to allow the only product that if used as directed is guaranteed to harm you."
As to why Elk Grove Village should do something no other town has done, he said, "It always takes the first one to get the ball rolling."
Ultimately, the village board did not go along, and Johnson dropped the controversial idea, but it still reinforced the notion that he's no cookie-cutter public servant.
Now, Johnson and Elk Grove Village are in the spotlight again - this time, coming up with $300,000 of village money to sponsor the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl this December, and possibly doubling down on the investment in the future.
For many, the first reaction may be one of bemusement. What's this? Elk Grove Village and the Bahamas Bowl? What's the village got to do with the Bahamas? Or for that matter, with college football?
Certainly, no municipality without a tourism motive has acted as title sponsor for a college bowl game before. But since when has something like that stopped Mayor Johnson or Elk Grove Village?
They're not afraid to be different. And they're not afraid to be pioneers.
And we say, more power to them.
The strategy behind the sponsorship is to market Elk Grove's gigantic industrial park and bring attention to it. The suburb has a gem in its backyard, but not enough people and businesses know about it.
Given how much people already are talking about the title sponsorship in only a few days since it was announced, there's plenty of evidence already that the gambit is promising.
Mayor Johnson and trustees in Elk Grove Village have never been afraid to think big.
And when they do, they put Elk Grove Village on the map. In this case, that's exactly the point.