Board narrows naming-rights rules; stadium renaming approved for longtime coach

The Manitowoc School District Board of Education voted to formalize a process for naming district facilities and approved renaming the municipal field to commemorate Bruce Steinbecker.

The personnel and policy committee recommended striking language that previously required honorees to be deceased or not active district employees. Instead, the committee set a new review path: any naming request will be reviewed first by the superintendent and the board’s executive committee, which will then make a recommendation to the full board for a final vote. The committee and the board framed the change as a way to increase transparency, allow competing proposals to surface, and to protect against opportunistic donations that would lead to “tacky” or inappropriate namings.

Committee chair Ben Hansen said the change will allow the district to accept donations while vetting them for suitability and public interest. The board also discussed that donor recognition — such as companies’ names on athletic-turf surfaces or facility sponsorships — can continue at the subfacility level even if a whole facility name is reserved for a person or specific honoree.

Following that policy update, the board approved a motion to rename the municipal field in commemoration of Bruce Steinbecker. The vote was taken by voice; the motion carried with no recorded opposition. Board members described the renaming as “well deserved.”

Board members noted the naming policy changes came out of recent, ad-hoc donor requests and the larger referendum-funded facilities work now underway.