Cross Insurance buys Portland civic center naming rights in $2.5M deal
Photo / Dylan Martin
Clark Insurance bought the naming rights for the main entrance of the Cumberland County Civic Center back n April. The company said Cross Insurance's new deal won't cause them to back out.
The Cumberland County Civic Center will be renamed to Cross Insurance Arena after the Bangor-based company secured naming rights in a 10-year, $2.5 million deal.
The civic center’s nine-member Board of Trustees authorized the agreement in a unanimous vote Wednesday morning, Chairman Neal Pratt told Mainebiz. The agreement, once executed, will have Cross Insurance pay the civic center $250,000 annually for 10 years. The official name-change date depends on when the contract and design work are concluded.
“Teaming up with such a terrific Maine-based company is a perfect follow-up to having just opened the newly renovated facility,” Pratt said in a statement. “The public response to the venue’s many improvements has been very positive, and we look forward to many years of collaboration and success together at the new Cross Insurance Arena.”
Brent Cross, executive vice president of Cross Insurance, said in a statement that his company is thrilled to support the revitalized arena with the naming rights deal.
“The Cross Insurance Arena will not just be a cultural haven for the city of Portland, but for all of Maine as well,” he said. “We are extremely excited about our brand’s continued expansion throughout our home state.”
Pratt said the naming rights revenue will be used to help pay off the debt service of the $33 million, voter-approved bond for civic center renovations that were completed earlier this year. He added that his board had budgeted for revenue from potential naming rights deals when it was planning on how to pay off the bond.
“When you look at the economic reality of a $33 million bond and the need to repay it,” he said, “there are certain things you need to deal with. The primary naming rights asset was a very important asset and had to be considered as part of the economic equation.”
The deal will make Cross Insurance the only agency in the country to have naming rights for two large-scale arenas, the company said. In July 2012, the company secured naming rights to what is now known as the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor under a 15-year, $3 million agreement with the city of Bangor.
Pratt said he and other board members weren’t concerned about any potential consumer confusion between Cross Insurance Arena in Portland and Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. “I’m confident that people will be able to determine which is which,” he said.
Cross admitted to Mainebiz, though, that it took the civic center’s board a little while to convince his company that “it wouldn’t be not too confusing for the community.” He said Front Row Marketing, which the civic center hired to help find naming rights opportunities, had conducted research and convinced him it wouldn’t be a problem.
“We’re hoping it’s not too confusing,” he said. “We thought it was a great way to work with the community and make sure people know we care about investing in the community.”
Cross said having naming rights for the Bangor and Portland arenas will help the company with name recognition as it seeks to attract new customers.
“One challenge a business has is name recognition and credibility,” he said, “so when one of my people knocks on the door, they don’t have to explain who they are. There’s an instant credibility to elevating your brand.”
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