The Tucson Convention Center may soon be named for a credit union, car dealership or insurance company.
The Rio Nuevo board is soliciting a sponsor to place its name on the 55-year-old convention center downtown.
The board agreed to approach the city of Tucson to share the expense of contracting with Legends, a global agency that secures stadium and arena naming rights and corporate sponsorships.
The naming rights would exclude the Linda Ronsdadt Music Hall, Leo Rich Theater and Alva Torres Plaza names, the board previously noted.
The Rio Nuevo board is soliciting a sponsor to place its name on the 55-year-old convention center downtown.
Legends manages operations at State Farm Stadium in Glendale and currently manages the TCC.
Two recent naming rights in the Tucson area include Mosaic Quarter, a large sports complex on the city’s south side, signing 20-year naming rights to ICCU Credit Union, which will have its name on the entire 90-acre complex and the Iceplex and Field House.
People are also reading…
Arizona Stadium, where the UA football team plays, is now known as the Casino Del Sol Stadium, after naming rights were awarded in a 20-year deal with the University of Arizona and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
The Tucson Convention Center opened on Nov. 6, 1971, as the Tucson Community Center.
New naming rights for the Tucson Convention Center would exclude the already-named Linda Ronsdadt Music Hall, Leo Rich Theater and Alva Torres Plaza.
Created in 1999 via voter-approved Proposition 400, the Rio Nuevo District is a municipal tax collection district and special taxing district that owns the TCC.
Rio Nuevo receives an incremental portion of state-shared funds from sales taxes collected within its boundary.
When the district was formed, the Tucson Convention Center was designated as a priority by the state for Rio Nuevo to bring it up to a nationally competitive level.
New board members
At its October meeting, Rio Nuevo also welcomed two new board members.
Two real estate experts were named to the board by the state legislature.
Amos
Hank Amos, chairman and CEO of Tucson Realty & Trust Co., a fourth-generation Tucsonan who previously served on the Arizona Board of Regents and Greater Tucson Economic Council, was appointed by the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives.
Norwood
Kameron Norwood, a Tucson native and UA graduate, is a commercial broker with Cushman & Wakefield / Picor and was appointed by the state senate.
“Both Hank and Kam bring valuable perspectives and extensive experience,” said Fletcher McCusker, chair of the Rio Nuevo Board of Directors. “As Rio Nuevo continues to pursue new development opportunities and strengthen downtown Tucson’s economic vitality, their expertise will be instrumental in contributions to the region’s economic development. We are grateful for their willingness to serve our community.”
The new appointments fill vacancies left earlier this year with the death of longtime member Chris Sheafe, who died in a Marana plane crash and vice chairman Edmund Marquez, who resigned to focus on his recent acquisition of the indoor football team, the Tucson Sugar Skulls.
Both members serve at the pleasure of the appointing authorities, and there is no fixed term limit.
Tucson's El Güero Canelo for sale
