Private Prison Group Wins Naming Rights to FAU's Stadium

[a1bion]

Nickname that bitch, "Owlcatraz!"

According to a report from OwlAccess.com, FAU is expected to announce a "marketing deal" Tuesday with private correctional facilities management corporation the GEO Group, a deal that would include the naming rights to the stadium. The GEO Group is based out of Boca Raton -- the report notes that GEO's headquarters are "visible from I-95 across from FAU's campus" -- and GEO's CEO George Zoley is an FAU alum.

The school had been searching for a corporate naming rights sponsor for years; an architect for the project had been approved as far back as 2008. No doubt many in the FAU administration will be happy to finally have the search behind them after the hiccups in having the stadium built, and to secure a deal OwlAccess reported was "believed to be valued at around $5 million."

But that deal will no doubt bring an air of controversy as well. The GEO Group has a less-than-pristine reputation as a result of a long string of incidents and lawsuits that have resulted in millions paid out in fines and penalties. The company formerly operated the infamous Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in Mississippi, where a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into abuses concluded that "due to the unconstitutional operation of WGYCF, youth were sexually preyed upon by staff and all too frequently suffered grievous harm, including death."

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... -geo-group

[DocZaius]

Kind of bizarre. Leaving aside the whole private prison industry's terrible record on human rights, why does such a company need to plaster their name on a stadium? They don't exactly need widespread name recognition to maintain or grow their business.

[TheTodd]

"When I get thrown in prison I only want to be in a GEO prison."
"GEO prisons, just like home."
"Don't get rapped in sub-par prisons, come to GEO and we will give you lube."