The Syracuse Crunch (AHL) and Onondaga County are closer to landing a naming rights partner for the War Memorial Arena, according to the latest update.
Currently, Crunch owner Howard Dolgon is working with Onondaga County to land a naming rights deal for War Memorial Arena. As part of the arrangement, the two sides will share any revenue from a sale, with the goal being to have a modified name on the venue by the start of next season. That would allow the unveiling of the venue name change to coincide with the debut of improvements to the War Memorial Arena.
Dolgon indicated recently that the list of prospective partners is at six. Any new naming rights deal would keep the War Memorial name in some form. More from Syracuse.com:
Dolgon is taking the lead in working with Onondaga County to strike a deal for the building. Dolgon said he could have an arrangement within the next several weeks with the hope of using the new name starting next season.
Dolgon wouldn’t identify the half-dozen interested parties other than to say they are all corporate sponsors the team already works with. He would not go into financial details, but said he’s looking at a 10-to-12 year pact.
The revenue from the naming rights would be shared between the Crunch and the county, Dolgon said. The War Memorial name will still be used as part of the title name.
There have been other examples of teams and local governments leaving the War Memorial aspect of a name intact after the sale of naming rights, with one example being a fellow AHL arena in Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. Syracuse’s War Memorial Arena originally opened in 1951.
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