Should the Boston Pops Fourth of July fireworks concert on the Esplanade be Lucchino-ized?

Yes, in some circles, Larry Lucchino has become a verb. The former Red Sox CEO helped usher in an era of selling corporate sponsorships at Fenway Park that most notably allowed advertising to return to the Green Monster after a half century. Now the logos of Infiniti, Foxwood Resort Casino, and others seem as if they’ve always been there.

Lucchino’s name has come up not so much to replace David Mugar — who after 43 years took his last bow as the show’s executive producer on Monday — but rather as a way of thinking of how Boston’s Independence Day celebration could appeal to sponsors. While the outdoor event is free to the public, it relies on a corporate underwriter, and this year, unable to ink a deal, Mugar had to foot the $2 million bill himself.

Mugar, perhaps proudly, has prevented over-commercialization of the event, but for how much longer? On Monday, about a half-million spectators gathered on the Esplanade for the outdoor fireworks concert, but there were only a handful of places to buy a T-shirt or even a hot dog. When Liberty Mutual sponsored the event, their presence was understated, with some branding on the jumbotrons and in the programs.

I reported last week that casino mogul Steve Wynn was taking a serious look at sponsoring our Fourth of July event starting in 2017. The Las Vegas billionaire dispatched a few folks to check out the operation. Spotted among them was his top guy in Massachusetts, Bob DeSalvio, president of Wynn Boston Harbor, which will be built in Everett.

In passing the baton to Wynn, Mugar would find a sponsor with a kindred spirit: someone who doesn’t want other people’s logos plastered all over the Esplanade. Still, Wynn has a brand to build here, and he would want something for his money, perhaps banners on or near the Hatch Shell and other strategic locations along the Charles River park.

What’s in it for Wynn is a chance for him to buy some love with the locals. It’s not enough that he wants to build a $2.1 billion casino and create thousands of jobs. His latest hurdle comes from the city of Somerville, which has filed a legal challenge that is preventing his casino from breaking ground.

At 77, Mugar says he wants to move on, and the real test comes now as potential sponsors step forward with their own ideas on how to make Boston’s signature Fourth of July celebration their own. (Note to Mugar’s successor: A Globe reviewer panned this year’s concert featuring Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas, saying it “felt like a patchwork of mixed objectives and compromises.’’)

What I had a tough time with was figuring out who holds the permit for the Esplanade celebration. Talk to officials from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which oversees the Esplanade, and they’ll tell you that Boston 4 Productions, an arm of a Mugar nonprofit, has a year-to-year arrangement.

That means conceivably interested sponsors don’t need to go through Boston 4 and can apply for an event permit directly with the state. Boston 4, however, will tell you that it has a five-year deal that rolls over annually as long as the organization can fulfill the contract.

One thing everyone agrees on: No entity has been given the go ahead for July 4, 2017.

So let’s get back to Lucchino and what he did at Fenway Park under principal owner John Henry, who also owns The Boston Globe. Lucchino, who is now Sox CEO emeritus, offers up some advice to whomever takes the reins from Mugar.

First, take the Hippocratic oath and do no harm.

“We had great respect for the ballpark,’’ said Lucchino. For example, the Green Monster has ads, but they’re done in the same color scheme of the wall.

Next, transform without losing your way. Lucchino thinks commercialization should be “tasteful and proportional.’’

As for a gambling magnate being the next benefactor of the Fourth, Lucchino said: “It would be a terrific thing for Steve Wynn to take a deep dive into this and see if it works for him and for his business.’’

Let the fireworks over the future of the Fourth begin. They may be as intense as the real thing.

Shirley Leung is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at shirley.leung@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @leung.