New York Islanders Arena at Belmont Now Has a [ingloriously sponsored] Name

The New York Islanders’ arena under construction now has a sponsorship name: UBS announced today that it has reached a 20-year naming rights deal to call the state-of-the-art (that’s an obligatory modifier for all new arena) venue UBS Arena at Belmont Park.

Back in the day, when Nassau [gloriously unsponsored] was one of two remaining NHL venues without a corporate name, we had fun on this site trying to remember whether a given road venue the Islanders visited was a [bank of some sort] Garden, a [tire/consumer products of some sort] Center(re), or an [airline of some sort] Arena.

So, did you have your money on a financial entity for the Islanders’ new home?

Of course, with the 2015 move to [bank of some sort] Center in Brooklyn, the Islanders had already left their gloriously unsponsored days behind. Now, even with their temporary return to the Coliseum, their familiar home has a bizarre and very lengthy name attached to it that means it only shows up in company promotions and such.

So UBS? That’s easy and short...chances are it’s a name that just might stick.

Until the next merger, of course.

The Extra Print

UBS notes that the deal includes commitments to philanthropic efforts and sustainability, including the aim to achieve LEED v4 sustainability standards, minimizing the environmental impact, and becoming a zero waste facility. Lofty goals.

The agreement also includes the usual “permanent exterior signage, entitlement to the Arena’s largest premium private hospitality space, and prominent UBS logo placement on the roof, center ice, and throughout the venue” plus VIP access for UBS and its partners.

SportsBusinessDaily details some terms of the agreement, including how much the Islanders stand to pocket throughout the two-decade long agreement with UBS:

The 20-year deal naming rights deal, which will pay out $17.5-18 million annually, has incentives related to the team’s performance that could push the deal’s total value to nearly $400 million, sources said.

Meanwhile at the Islanders’ site, the team’s announcement trumpets the arena’s involvement in the community, in terms of job placement and career advancement opportunities.

The project will also inject much needed stimulus into the New York economy and the local community, with the goal of filling 30% of UBS Arena’s permanent jobs with workers who live in the surrounding area. Thirty percent of contracting dollars for construction will also be earmarked for state-certified minority and female-owned businesses, and 6% will be earmarked for service-disabled veteran-owned businesses. An additional $100 million investment in transit and infrastructure enhancements, including the first, newly constructed Long Island Rail Road station in almost 50 years, will benefit local residents and visitors for decades to come.

UBS Arena will also commit a significant philanthropic investment to drive economic redevelopment and strengthen the local community. The primary focus of these efforts will be on improving college and career readiness for local youth by providing programming related to post-secondary education and entrepreneurship, both of which are longtime cornerstones of UBS’s community impact efforts across the Americas region.

Whatever the name, it will be refreshing to finally have a long-term place to call “home.”