Naming rights to the court at The Palestra have been sold as part of a new sponsorship agreement, as Penn has announced Macquarie Court.
On Tuesday, Penn athletics announced that it had entered into a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Macquarie Investment Management, a global asset manager with headquarters in Philadelphia. As part of the sponsorship deal, the firm has landed the naming rights to the court at The Palestra.
The Palestra name will remain in place, but beginning with the 2018-19 season Penn will recognize the court as Macquarie Court at The Palestra. More from The Philadelphia Enquirer:
It’s a multiyear deal that will boost the Penn basketball teams’ budgets, and boost a range of community service programs that the athletic department runs. Athletic director Grace Calhoun wouldn’t disclose the amount of money changing hands, or the exact length of the deal, but she did call it “far and away the largest sponsorship Penn athletics has entered into, and one that we feel is really going to visibly change the way we’re able to sponsor our programs.”
“We are thrilled that Macquarie is supporting Penn Athletics with this significant sponsorship, which includes one of the most historic gymnasiums in collegiate athletics and two of the top basketball programs in the Ivy League,” Dr. M. Grace Calhoun, Director of Athletics and Recreation at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a press statement. “Community matters is one of the core values of Penn Athletics and we are excited to align with a company that matches our commitment to the city of Philadelphia and its youth through support of our Young Quakers Community Athletics (YQCA) program, National Girls and Women in Sports Day and Community Champion programs.”
“Our US mutual fund business started in Philadelphia in 1929, and our commitment to this city and the community is part of our ethos,” Shawn Lytle, deputy global head of Macquarie Investment Management and president of Delaware Funds by Macquarie, said in a press statement. “We are proud to sponsor Penn Athletics and the Palestra, an iconic Philadelphia institution, where talented men and women excel both on and off the court.”
The Palestra originally opened in 1927 and is home to multiple Penn athletic programs, including men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, wresting, and gymnastics.
