Evesham Township approves deal with Virtua for new sponsorship program at Indian Spring Country Club
The program would bring in sponsors to the golf course while also offering discounts and other partnership opportunities.
As owner and manager of the Indian Spring Country Club, Evesham Township has long sought ways to increase revenues and bring new golfers to the green.
The latest plan is the “Affinity Program” that would allow the township to partner with outside organizations for sponsorships and discount opportunities at the course.
Through the direction of the Evesham Township’s manager, the director of golf at Indian Spring has the power to negotiate with local businesses and other entities for discounts on greens fees, range balls and merchandise to attract business.
In turn, those organizations can pay to place advertising at the course that, in the words of Evesham Township manager Tom Czerniecki, is “tastefully done.”
“We’ve been struggling as a government entity to approach our golf business with the same flexibility, with the same sort of ingenuity that a private sector golf course would,” Czerniecki said.
Once negotiated, each Affinity Program participant would have their agreement presented to Evesham Township Council for final approval, with terms and dates outlined within an official resolution.
That was the was the case at council’s latest meeting, where it approved Indian Spring’s first Affinity Program member — Virtua Health Inc.
According to Czerniecki, Virtua has agreed to pay the township about $15,000 over about 16 months for the exclusive advertising, signage and sponsorship rights at the course for organizations for the hospital category.
Czerniecki said Virtua doctors also have plans to host clinics at the course for motion and athletic development.
According to Czerniecki, the township will also be partnering with Virtua for advertising.
“It’s cross pollination in terms of our course being advertised to the Virtua community and the Virtua community being represented in our advertisements,” Czerniecki said.
And although Virtua had signed on for exclusive rights for the hospital category under the agreement, Czerniecki said the township hoped to expand the program to other organizations in other sectors.
In some ways, Czerniecki compared the Affinity Program to Indian Spring’s Municipal Partners Program the township instituted several years ago.
With that program, Burlington County residents were offered a $5 discount on a round of golf at Indian Spring if their home township agreed to promote Indian Spring on township websites and social media pages and allowed the course to place information tables at township events.
As an employee of Virtua, Councilmember Ken D’Andrea abstained from casting a vote on the resolution that approved the agreement.
However, before the vote was cast, D’Andrea also stepped off the council dais and spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting about the agreement.
D’Andrea said Virtua hoped to present a check for the sponsorship opportunity to the township and golf course sometime in the near future.
“Given that Virtua is in the backyard of Evesham Township, it was paramount to see if we could do something,” D’Andrea said.
