First Horizon Corporation, in what city officials are calling a “landmark partnership agreement” with the City of Greensboro and Oak View Group – the managers and operators of the Greensboro Coliseum Complex – will become the first naming rights partner of the 65-year-old coliseum complex, and the facility that’s always been known as the Greensboro Coliseum will now be “First Horizon Coliseum.”
Terms of the multi-year agreement – which goes into effect immediately – weren’t released.
The new partnership with First Horizon Bank was secured by Oak View Global Partnerships, which is Oak View Group’s sponsorship and naming rights division that connects brands with live entertainment properties.
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said that this is a very positive step for the city and the coliseum.
“We are thrilled to welcome First Horizon Bank, a fantastic community and business partner here in Greensboro, as our naming rights partner at the Coliseum,” the mayor stated in a press release announcing the deal. “We are grateful to Oak View Group, who, in its first year of operating our beautiful facilities, helped us attract and secure First Horizon as the first naming rights partner in the venue’s 65-year history. With Oak View Group as our operator and First Horizon as our naming rights partner, the First Horizon Coliseum is poised to be a top entertainment destination and a tremendous asset for our community that will continue to attract events that generate millions of dollars in economic impact for our region.”
In the same Friday, Oct. 4 press release, Todd Williams, the Triad Market president for the company, stated he was also pleased with the deal.
“We are thrilled to unveil the new name for this historic coliseum which marks the beginning of an exciting chapter for First Horizon Bank and our community,” he said. “First Horizon Bank is honored to continue the legacy of this iconic venue. The Coliseum has been a symbol of unity, culture and sports for generations, and we are confident that this new era will bring even more memorable moments and opportunities for everyone.”
Scott Johnson, OVG’s General Manager of First Horizon Coliseum, also had positive things to say.
“The addition of a naming rights partner greatly enhances the Coliseum’s profile and appeal on a national level,” he said. “First Horizon Bank is a great community partner and we look forward to working with them on marketing initiatives that will amplify their brand and provide additional exposure for the Coliseum and our tremendous variety of events.”
OVG President of Venue Management Greg O’Dell added that securing a
naming rights partner had been a top priority for OVG in its first year of managing the coliseum. He also said he’s excited for the future of the facility in Greensboro as First Horizon seeks new opportunities for the Coliseum that create more excitement and more at “this iconic and revered venue.”
O’Dell also called First Horizon Bank “the perfect partner to help us.”
“At Oak View Group, we like to create true partnerships that connect world-class brands with our world-class properties, and this naming rights agreement with First Horizon Bank, is exactly that,” said Dan Griffis, president of OVG Global Partnerships. “Naming rights are an integral part of a venue’s brand identity and a vehicle that helps build a loyal fan base in a market. First Horizon Bank is a terrific partner who will tremendously help us enhance the Coliseum’s initiatives through imaginative and creative customer activations across the region.”
First Horizon Corp., which had assets of $82.2 billion as of June 30 of this year, is a regional financial services company that offers loans and financial counseling.
Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the banking subsidiary operates in 12 states across the southern US.
The company and its subsidiaries offer commercial, private banking, consumer, small business, wealth and trust management, retail brokerage, capital markets, fixed income, and mortgage banking services.
Lol, beware, no released terms and the mayor says it’s ” a positive step”. Sound familiar?
Maybe The City of Greensboro could spend those dollars on our teachers? Oh never mind, we’ll probably never know the amount and where it’s spent.
I have experience with First Horizon. There are only two branches in Greensboro, 1 or 2 in HP, etc. My sister keeps a five-figure balance in her checking account. She pays a monthly fee, plus a per-check fee. She does not drive, so I have to take her from Julian to Wendover Ave., and back. I have read some articles on this bank, I my opinion, they are not the kind of people I would want to do business with. How much did they pay for this endorsement?
If you are paying attention, some other banks doing businesses here have paid govt fines because of criminal behavior. I don’t have the facts handy, so I state that this is my opinion.
If you can, I would suggest that you find a way to join a credit union. A very large one does business in NC.
We can afford to sell naming rights to our wonderful Colesium but we can not give our tax payers loose leaf service. Trees are more important to me.
If it was a good deal, Matt Brown would have done it years ago.
Reminds me of how High Point Rd overnite became Gate City Blvd. What a joke.
And we still call it High Point Rd.
I call it Lee St.
i call it the salisbury wagon road
Amen… never knew it was happening
It’s sad to see Greensboro give in to the chase for the dollar “unburdened by what has been”
The Greensboro Auditorium and Coliseum complex was built as a war memorial to those who served and died in defense of this country in World War II. The tax payers of Greensboro paid for the complex to not only memorialize that service but also to provide facilities that the sons and daughters of those who sacrificed so much could enjoy the life that service preserved.
My mother served as the only woman on the War Memorial Fund Commission as a volunteer for more than eight years to develop a fitting memorial for the citizens of Greensboro who served. From 1954 through 1962 through three bond issue attempts the commission worked to find that one concept that would properly represent the spirit and sacrifice our fathers and mothers made to secure our freedom.
Each citizen of Greensboro could identify with the Coliseum Complex as a local, regional and even a national icon. What identification can citizen find with a corporate sponsor with no local roots?
It is indeed sad that the Greensboro Coliseum , the site of so many important events bringing attention and exposure to our most desirable city is yet just another icon to be sold for a corporate advertisement.
Charles H. Sikes Jr.
Thank you for reminding people of the history behind the Greensboro and War Memorial Coliseum, Mr. Sikes, and especially of your family’s personal attachment to that with your mother’s service. Don’t fear, there will be people here for at least the next 40 years who will continue to call this place The Greensboro Coliseum, and the War Memorial. If we’re persistent enough as we were with Charlotte Motor Speedway they will officially return the name to us as it should be.
Well said, Mr Sikes.
Thanks also for providing a little history on the Coliseum.
You have expressed what many people feel. Even I feel uneasy about this corporate advertising on a public building (and I’m a free marketeer).
So this is a positive step for Greensboro. Why is it a positive step when you’re giving up the name of your city? Who continues to make the decisions for Greensboro? Oh, I forgot the city council. The same crew that paid the city manager severance pay after he resigned then paid a couple hundred thousand dollars to settle a law suit against him. Are all Democrats this incompetent?
Answer….yes they are. Ask the folks in Western NC where FEMA and all govt help is. Oh FEMA has no money, spent on all Brandon’s and Camilliar’s illegals.
That is false information. You should be ashamed of yourself.
You’re stating that the current regime has not spent any FEMA or DHS dollars on illegals?
i am ashamed of myself for no apparent reason . . . in advance. let’s form a club.
Eloquently spoken, Mr Sikes. I’d forgotten about how proud we were to travel throughout the Southeast in the 60’s and 70’s and people would mention “The War Memorial Coliseum” and Greensboro in the same conversation.
Time does have a way of eroding our memories and even the written word is quickly vanished today with the click of a button.
Remember when stadiums used to be named after people rather than an agglomeration of soulless sociopaths?
Hey, at least it’s kinda spacey sounding! Would you rather have one of TWO snappy “Truist” stadiums in a 25 mile radius? Well, hopefully both banks will soon be bought up by Wells Fargo and we’ll all be retro. Or maybe Quebein U will take them over.
If I had any money at First Horizons Bank I would immediately move it elsewhere to let the bank and the city know what I think of this “Landmark Partnership Agreement,” but I bank elsewhere. I suggest this action for anyone that agrees with me. I will remember this at the ballot box, however.
This does not promote Greensboro. They would sell their own mothers. How will the council split up this windfall.
I’m surprised the name “Skip Alston Coliseum” wasn’t the new name.
i get a new name after 71 years: gramps