For some businesses, paying $450 to sponsor a team in San Diego’s gay softball league is a no-brainer. There’s an almost instant return on investment.

Take ROK Enterprises, for example, a North Park branding company that can put your name or logo on anything from coffee mugs to shopping bags. When teams need uniforms, whether they’re simple screen-printed T-shirts or jerseys with intricate embroidery and appliqué lettering, even with competitive pricing, a company like ROK can make its money back fairly quickly when filling several orders.

Of course, ROK isn’t the only option for teams needing uniforms, and owner Rick Koenig concedes his company only outfits about five teams per season. However, of the many branding companies with which teams in the league do business, ROK is one of the only ones to have ever sponsored a team. In fact, ROK has been an active league sponsor for more than 10 years.

Why? What are the benefits of sponsoring a team in a gay softball league Koenig sees that his peers do not?

It would seem that, while the specifics of the answer will vary from business to business, the overriding theme is a strong desire to support GLBT athletics and athletes.

Tim Bachtad, former councilmember for the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, says, “It is important to the tribe to show its support to a wide and diverse group of people.”

Bachtad, himself an 11-year player in the league, says his tribe’s involvement began several years ago when he as a player became eligible to play in the Gay Softball World Series (GSWS), an invitational championship tournament held in a different city each year.

“Originally, the tribe sponsored me as a player because the tribe supports its people,” Bachtad said. “But eventually it turned into a different relationship with the tribe sponsoring a whole team.” Viejas Enterprises, which is the public arm of the tribe, has sponsored Bachtad’s team for the last four years.

Does the tribe expect revenue to come back in the form of casino dollars from the team it sponsors or from other league players?

No, Bachtad says. What the tribe gets instead is something different. “We get community involvement and are able to show we support all kinds of people.”

As an example of that support, when San Diego hosted the GSWS in 2005, Viejas was a title sponsor, and Bachtad says that kind of exposure is key. “Whether we’re at the Gay Softball World Series here in San Diego or at an out-of-town tournament in cities like Phoenix, other tribes will see we’re involved.”

Bachtad says such exposure can be a win-win proposition for everyone, especially if other tribes follow their example and start supporting gay athletics in their cities.

For gay businesses like the popular nightclub Flicks, though, the decision to be a sponsor isn’t about an immediate return on investment or strictly about being seen as supportive of the community, though certainly the bar is.

Nigel Mayer, longtime softball player and new Flicks sole proprietor, says his bar is sponsoring two teams this season because, in part, doing so fits his business plan. One of Mayer’s goals is to increase his bar’s Sunday afternoon patronage.

“Having a lot of guys in uniform in your bar is a way to bring in foot traffic,” Mayer said. “By sponsoring two teams, that’s more men in the bar.”

Flicks hopes to become the bar of choice for the 10th inning. His plan? Leverage inexpensive alcohol with a street-side patio and friendly staff. At the start of this season, Flicks began offering beer busts Sunday afternoons from 2-7 p.m. where softball players and fans can drink copious amounts of alcohol without causing significant harm to their wallets.

In all, America’s Finest City Softball League boasts 21 corporate sponsors of gay softball teams in San Diego. Many sponsor two or more teams, including Flicks, Urban Mo’s and PECS. Other sponsors include the iconic San Diego restaurant Anthony’s Fish Grotto (whose players win the informal award for best team name: “All Battered Up”).

Bars like Bourbon Street and Redwing Bar & Grill each sponsor teams in the popular Women’s Division, along with longtime league sponsors Hillcrest Pharmacy, Clean Sweep Janitor Service and newcomers Jiai Aikido and Earthtones Landscaping.

Over the years, too, some non-traditional companies have sponsored teams in the league, some of the most memorable being Nakedudes.com, Jeff’s Mobile Notary & Massage Services, ACE Hillcrest Hardware, Agouron Pharmaceuticals, the makers of the HIV medication Viracept, and long-time league sponsors Club San Diego and Powerhouse Gym.