Engage Franklin and the $1.5 Million Naming Rights Deal: How Hotel Tax Revenue Flows Through Ballpark Commons (ROC Ventures)

By Dr. Richard A. Busalacchi
Franklin Community News

In Part 1, we examined ROC Foundation — the nonprofit affiliated with Ballpark Commons that reported executive compensation exceeding program spending in 2023.

Part 2 examines a separate but related entity:

Engage Franklin, the City’s contracted Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), which operates from the same Ballpark Commons address and may fund a $1.5 million naming rights agreement using hotel room tax revenue.

Individually, these organizations serve different purposes.

Structurally, they operate within the same financial ecosystem.

What Is Engage Franklin?

Engage Franklin describes its mission as:

“To serve as a destination marketing organization, engaging in tourism promotion and tourism development that positions Franklin as a premiere destination for sports, meetings/conventions, leisure and corporate travel…”

It is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization  .

Under the Tourism Entity Agreement  :

• Hotel room tax revenue flows from the City to the Franklin Tourism Commission.

• A substantial portion is transferred to Engage Franklin.

• Those funds must be used for tourism promotion and development.

Its mailing address:

7044 S. Ballpark Drive, Suite 300 — Franklin

The same address used by:

• ROC Ventures

• ROC Foundation

• Ballpark Commons entities

Engage Franklin Board of Directors

According to publicly available information, Engage Franklin’s Board of Directors includes:

Darrel Malek

President, Point After Pub & Grille

Mark Wylie

Vice President, Franklin Tourism Commission

Joseph Alivo

Treasurer, Rock Sports Group

Jeff Calimlim

Secretary, Hampton Inn & Suites Franklin

Brian Francis

Mulligan’s Irish Pub & Maria’s Pizzeria

Joe Lupoli

Sleep Inn/MainStay Franklin

Tammy Bresette

Root River Center

James Pekar

Local Investor (Poth's General & former partner in Ballpark Commons)

Joe Zimmerman

ROC Ventures

Laura Nelson

Visit Milwaukee

Alderwoman Michelle Eichmann

Franklin City Representative

Brandon Chinea

Executive Director, Engage Franklin

Representation and Stewardship Questions

Public oversight of hotel room tax revenue depends on clear governance structure and independent decision-making.

Two additional structural questions arise:

• Who currently serves as the City’s designated representative on the Engage Franklin Board?

• What are the professional or industry relationships between Tourism Commission members and entities that may benefit from room tax expenditures?

Public records reflect that Alderwoman Michelle Eichmann serves as the City’s representative on the Engage Franklin Board.  Eichmann was appointed by Mayor John Nelson and approved by the common council over a year ago.

Engage Franklin’s publicly listed board includes hospitality operators, development stakeholders, and a principal associated with ROC Ventures. The Tourism Commission, which allocates room tax revenue, includes members connected to the hotel and lodging industry.

Such representation is common in tourism governance structures. However, when:

• The allocating body,

• The contracted nonprofit,

• And the development benefiting from naming rights payments

intersect within overlapping civic and industry roles, documented conflict-of-interest safeguards and recusal procedures become especially important.

The accountability question is not whether officials support or oppose specific developments.

It is whether:

• Recusals are recorded when matters involving related parties are discussed,

• Independent review occurs when public funds benefit entities represented within the governance structure,

• And statutory compliance documentation is publicly available.

These are structural stewardship questions tied to governance transparency — not political positions.

Why Board Composition Matters

On its face, the board reflects a mix of:

• Hospitality operators

• Tourism stakeholders

• Local business owners

• Development interests

• Regional tourism representatives

This composition is typical of many destination marketing organizations.

However, several structural intersections are notable:

• A sitting member of the Franklin Tourism Commission (Mark Wylie) serves on the Engage Franklin board.

• A principal associated with ROC Ventures (Joe Zimmerman) serves on the board.

• The organization operates from the Ballpark Commons address.

• Engage Franklin funds a $150,000 annual naming rights obligation benefiting Ballpark Commons .

These overlaps do not, by themselves, establish improper conduct.

But when:

• Public hotel tax revenue is involved,

• A development receives naming rights payments,

• And board representation includes individuals connected to both the allocating body and the beneficiary,

formal conflict-of-interest safeguards become especially important.

The key governance questions become:

• Are recusals documented when matters involving related parties are discussed?

• Are Tourism Commission members recusing appropriately?

• Is the board independently reviewing contracts tied to development interests?

• Are performance metrics for room tax expenditures documented and publicly reported?

Transparency in these procedures protects both the public and the board members themselves.           

From Private Sponsor to Public Funding

Before hotel tax dollars funded the stadium naming rights, Ballpark Commons announced a private sponsorship arrangement.

In September 2018, ROC Ventures announced that Routine Baseball had secured exclusive naming rights to the stadium, branding it “Routine Field.” That arrangement later became the subject of litigation, with Routine alleging the formal agreement had not been executed as represented. The dispute was settled in late 2019, and Routine branding was subsequently removed.

Following the settlement, the stadium operated under interim naming before the Franklin Tourism Commission approved a new ten-year naming rights agreement funded through hotel room tax revenue. 

The $1.5 Million Naming Rights Agreement

On July 1, 2020, the Franklin Tourism Commission entered into a 10-year Naming Rights Agreement committing:

$150,000 per year — $1.5 million total — funded by hotel room tax revenue.

The agreement:

• Renamed the stadium “Franklin Field”Provided branding and promotional benefits

• Required a Tourism Center within the ROC Ventures office building

• Anticipated creation of Engage Franklin and assignment of the obligation to it 

This represented a structural shift:

From private sponsorship to public tourism tax funding.

📊 WHAT $150,000 PER YEAR BUYS

Under the Naming Rights Agreement  , the annual payment provides:

🏟 Exclusive stadium naming rights (“Franklin Field”)

📍 Premium outfield wall signage (6’ x 20’ banner)

🚻 Stadium bathroom branding

🎟 Three “Presenting Partner” games per season

📣 Public address announcements

📺 Video board recognition

🎁 Co-branded giveaways

🌐 Website logo placement

📱 Social media promotion

📧 Email marketing exposure

🧢 Promotional merchandise

🎫 Eight season tickets annually

🔧 Installation of signage and branding materials

The agreement does not include:

❌ Measurable room-night benchmarks

❌ Performance metrics tied to overnight stays

❌ Multi-hotel impact guarantees

❌ Clawback provisions for unmet tourism impact

The public can see what branding benefits are provided.

What is not contractually defined is how tourism impact is measured.

🔎 WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE?

When $150,000 per year in public hotel tax revenue funds a naming rights agreement, responsibility is layered.

🏛 Franklin Tourism Commission

Primary Statutory Responsibility

Under Wis. Stat. § 66.0615, the Tourism Commission is responsible for ensuring that room tax revenue is used for lawful tourism promotion and development.

Even if funds are transferred to Engage Franklin, the Commission retains statutory compliance responsibility.

If expenditures were challenged under state law, the Commission — and ultimately the City — would be the accountable public entity.

🏢 Engage Franklin

Contract Administration & Fund Deployment

If the Naming Rights Agreement has been formally assigned, Engage Franklin may be responsible for making the annual payment.

As the contracted tourism entity, it is responsible for:

• Deploying room tax funds

• Documenting expenditures

• Demonstrating tourism-related impact

🏟 Ballpark Commons / ROC Ventures

Delivery of Sponsorship Benefits

The development entity is responsible for providing:

• Signage

• Branding

• Presenting partner games

• And the Tourism Center space described in the agreement

If those benefits are not delivered, the paying entity must enforce the contract.

📊 The Unresolved Question: Performance Measurement

The agreement outlines branding benefits.

It does not define:

• How overnight stays will be measured

• What tourism performance metrics must be met

• Or what corrective action occurs if tourism impact does not materialize

That leaves a central accountability question:

Who verifies that public hotel tax dollars are producing measurable tourism results?

Until performance reporting is publicly documented, that question remains open.

The Tourism Center Requirement

Section 3.4 of the Naming Rights Agreement required:

A Tourism Center located in the lobby of the ROC Ventures office building at Ballpark Commons, with the Tourism Commission responsible for all expenses related to design, construction, installation, maintenance, and operations  .

The agreement further provided that Engage Franklin staff would have:

• Dedicated desk space

• Phone and internet access

• Access to ROC-provided amenities 

In effect, public tourism dollars were contractually tied to establishing a physical tourism presence inside the private development’s office building.

As of this writing, there is no publicly available documentation demonstrating that a fully operational Tourism Center — as described in the agreement — has been constructed and maintained under those terms.

If the provision was:

• Implemented — documentation would clarify costs and operation.

• Amended — that amendment should be public.

• Waived — that waiver should be recorded.

Because the Tourism Commission retains statutory responsibility, clarity is essential.

Statutory Requirements

Wisconsin Statute § 66.0615 requires that room tax revenue be used for activities:

• Significantly used by transient tourists

• Reasonably likely to generate paid overnight stays

• At more than one lodging establishment

The Naming Rights Agreement provides marketing benefits.

It does not require documented overnight stay performance metrics.

That does not automatically invalidate the agreement

But it places the burden of demonstrating tourism impact outside the contract itself.

Governance Overlap

The Franklin Tourism Commission:

• Consists of five mayor-appointed members

• Includes a hotel industry representative

• Is responsible for room tax compliance

Engage Franklin’s board includes:

• Hospitality operators

• A Tourism Commission representative

• A ROC Ventures principal

• A Visit Milwaukee representative

This creates an interconnected governance ecosystem where:

• The body allocating hotel tax revenue,

• The nonprofit deploying the funds,

• And the development receiving naming rights payments

operate within overlapping institutional circles.

Overlap does not establish wrongdoing.

But it increases the need for:

• Conflict-of-interest policies

• Documented recusals

• Independent review

• Transparent reporting

The Tourism Commission cannot delegate away statutory responsibility.

🏛 Franklin Tourism Commission Members

The Franklin Tourism Commission is the statutory body responsible for administering hotel room tax revenue under Wis. Stat. § 66.0615.

Members are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council.

As of the current term, the Commission consists of:

Lance Schaefer

Hotel/Motel Industry Member

Term Expires: 12-31-2026

William Elliott

Term Expires: 12-31-2026

Barbara Wesener

Term Expires: 12-31-2026

Jeffrey Kuderski

Term Expires: 12-31-2026

Mark Wylie

Term Expires: 12-31-2026

Staff Support:

John Regetz, Economic Development Director

Why This Matters

The Tourism Commission:

• Approves room tax expenditures

• Enters into contracts such as the Naming Rights Agreement

• Transfers funds to Engage Franklin under contract

• Submits annual expenditure reports to the Common Council

Because the Commission retains statutory compliance responsibility, its decisions — and documentation — are central to ensuring that hotel tax funds are used consistent with state law.

Listing the Commission members clarifies that oversight is not abstract.

It rests with identifiable, appointed officials operating within the City’s statutory framework.

The Mayor’s Role in the Tourism Structure

Under Franklin ordinance, members of the Tourism Commission are appointed by the
Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council.

Because the Tourism Commission administers room tax revenue and entered into the Naming Rights Agreement, the Commission’s composition reflects mayoral appointments.

While the Mayor does not administer hotel tax funds directly, the appointment authority places the executive branch within the broader governance structure overseeing tourism expenditures.

This adds another layer to the accountability framework:

Room Tax → Tourism Commission (Mayoral Appointments) → Engage Franklin → Naming Rights Agreement → Ballpark Commons.

In that structure, public oversight ultimately extends through both the legislative and executive branches of City government.

Transition to Structural Accountability

Naming the members of the Franklin Tourism Commission clarifies an important point: statutory compliance is not theoretical — it rests with identifiable, appointed officials charged with overseeing the use of public hotel tax revenue.

When a $1.5 million naming rights agreement is funded through those dollars, and when that agreement intersects with a private development operating at the same address as the contracted tourism entity, the responsibility to ensure transparency, measurable tourism impact, and documented compliance ultimately returns to the Commission itself.

That is why the structural questions surrounding performance metrics, contractual fulfillment, and governance safeguards are not abstract policy debates — they are matters of public accountability.

Filing Transparency

Engage Franklin’s 2023 Form 990-EZ was recently filed and became publicly visible only in the past month.

ROC Foundation’s 2023 filing followed a similar timing pattern.

Both entities:

• Share the same Ballpark Commons address

• Operate within the same development ecosystem

• Filed required returns after periods of limited public visibility

Revocation did not occur.

But transparency timing matters — especially for entities connected to public funds.

Engage Franklin 2023 Financial Snapshot

Engage Franklin’s 2023 Form 990-EZ provides a limited but important window into its financial structure  .

Revenue

• Membership dues: $54,995

• Investment income: $6

• Total revenue: $55,001

No government grants, no program service revenue, and no fundraising revenue were reported.

Expenses

• Professional fees: $6,884

• Printing and postage: $1,401

• Other expenses (office and travel): $1,646

• Total expenses: $9,931

Program Services

Part III lists one program:

“Development of a marketing campaign to promote the Franklin community.” 

Program service expenses reported: $1,401

No grants were paid.

No room-night metrics were reported.

No tourism performance data was included.

Net Assets

Beginning net assets: $0

Ending net assets: $45,070

Because expenses were significantly lower than revenue, net assets accumulated rather than being deployed.

For an organization positioned as a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), the reported operational footprint is modest.

Broader Financial Context

In September 2024, the City of Franklin filed a lawsuit against Ballpark Commons alleging breach of contract over unpaid development obligations.

The lawsuit did not involve hotel tax funds directly.

However, it underscores that financial enforcement disputes have arisen within the same development ecosystem that benefits from the naming rights agreement.

When public land transactions, TIF structures, hotel tax naming rights, nonprofit entities, and contractual disputes intersect, scrutiny increases.

Executive Staffing Arrangement

The 2023 Form 990-EZ reports that Executive Director Brandon Chinea devoted approximately 20 hours per week to Engage Franklin, while reporting $0 in compensation from the organization  .

No salary, benefits, or independent contractor payments to the Executive Director appear on the return.

This raises a structural question:

If Engage Franklin’s Executive Director is not compensated by the organization itself, how is executive leadership funded?

If staffing support is provided by Ballpark Commons or ROC Ventures — whether through direct employment, shared services, or in-kind support — that arrangement would not necessarily appear as compensation on Engage Franklin’s Form 990 if the nonprofit did not pay the salary directly.

Shared staffing arrangements are not inherently improper.

However, when:

• A nonprofit entity is positioned to receive or deploy public hotel tax revenue,

• That entity may fund a naming rights agreement benefiting a private development,

• And executive leadership support is potentially connected to that development,

questions of independence and governance safeguards naturally arise.

Best practices in such circumstances typically include:

• Clear disclosure of related-party support arrangements,

• Written conflict-of-interest policies,

• Documented recusal procedures,

• Transparent reporting to the public body responsible for statutory compliance.

Because Engage Franklin operates within a statutory tourism framework, clarity regarding executive staffing structure is a matter of governance transparency.

🔎 Governance Intersections

How the Hotel Tax Structure Connects

                HOTEL ROOM TAX (Public Revenue)

                              │

                              ▼

               FRANKLIN TOURISM COMMISSION

            (Statutory Authority Under §66.0615)

                              │

                              │  Contracts With

                              ▼

                    ENGAGE FRANKLIN (501(c)(4))

                    7044 S. Ballpark Drive

                              │

                              │ Funds

                              ▼

            $150,000/Year Naming Rights Agreement

                              │

                              ▼

         BALLPARK COMMONS / ROC VENTURES

Shared Structural Elements

🏢 Shared Address

ROC Ventures, ROC Foundation, and Engage Franklin operate from 7044 S. Ballpark Drive.

👥 Board Overlap

• A Franklin Tourism Commission representative serves on the Engage Franklin board.

• A ROC Ventures principal serves on the Engage Franklin board.

💰 Financial Flow

Room tax revenue → Tourism Commission → Engage Franklin → Naming Rights Payment → Ballpark Commons.

📜 Contractual Tie

The Naming Rights Agreement anticipated formation of Engage Franklin and assignment of the obligation  .

🏛 Statutory Responsibility

The Tourism Commission retains compliance responsibility under Wisconsin law.

Overlap alone does not establish impropriety.

But when public tax dollars, nonprofit administration, and private development interests intersect within one ecosystem, formal safeguards and transparency become essential.

Connecting ROC Foundation and Engage Franklin

Part 1 documented ROC Foundation’s financial structure, including:

• Executive compensation exceeding program spending

• Payments to affiliated entities

• Filing timing concerns

Part 2 documents Engage Franklin’s role in deploying hotel tax revenue and potentially funding a long-term naming rights obligation benefiting the same development ecosystem.

Both entities:

• Operate from the same address

• Intersect with the same development

• Rely on public-facing funding streams

• And function within overlapping governance circles

They serve different legal purposes.

But they operate within the same structural orbit.

The Structural Accountability Question

This is not about personalities.

It is about structure.

Engage Franklin reports modest operational activity and no direct executive compensation in 2023.

The Franklin Tourism Commission approved a $1.5 million naming rights agreement funded by hotel room tax revenue.

That agreement provides branding benefits but does not define measurable tourism performance benchmarks.

The development benefiting from naming rights operates from the same address as the contracted tourism entity.

The Executive Director of the tourism entity reports no compensation from that entity.

The Tourism Commission retains statutory responsibility for ensuring compliance with Wis. Stat. § 66.0615.

The structural question is therefore straightforward:

Is the current governance framework sufficiently transparent, independent, and performance-driven to demonstrate that public hotel tax dollars are generating measurable, multi-hotel tourism impact?

Public funds require not only legal authorization, but demonstrable accountability.

Until performance metrics, staffing structure, and contractual fulfillment are clearly documented and publicly reported, that question remains open.

County Supervisor Steve Taylor ROC Foundation Executive Director, 

Mayor John Nelson, Mike Zimmerman ROC Ventures CEO

This piece reflects the author’s personal opinion and experiences. All statements are presented as commentary protected under the First Amendment. Readers are encouraged to review public records, filings, and documented evidence referenced throughout this article.

Dr. Richard Busalacchi is the Publisher of Franklin Community News, where he focuses on government transparency, community accountability, and local public policy. He believes a community’s strength depends on open dialogue, honest leadership, and the courage to speak the truth—even when it makes powerful people uncomfortable.

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Because until voters demand honest, transparent government, the corruption won’t stop — it will only change titles.

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