Perth Arena, RAC in $10-mn naming deal

Article posted by Coliseum, July 5^th, 2018

Image: Perth Arena

Perth Arena will soon be renamed RAC Arena under a $10-million naming deal between the Western Government and the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC WA), according to local media reports.

An announcement is expected to confirm within weeks that RAC WA had secured the naming rights for the Wellington Street venue for five years, according to PerthNow news portal.

The deal with the automotive club will pump about $2 million a year into the Labor Government’s coffers to help pay down state debt. It’s expected the word “Perth” would be removed from the arena’s name, the report said.

Perth newspaper The Sunday Times reported that in April, the website address www.racarena.com.au was registered by the WA Sports Centre Trust, the company behind VenuesWest.

The move follows a $50 million, 10-year deal with telecommunications giant Optus for naming rights at the new Perth Stadium.

The report said an RACWA spokesperson declined to discuss the details of the renaming process. “As a founding partner of Perth Arena and sponsor of the venue’s RAC Local Lounge, RAC has had conversations surrounding the State Government’s naming rights strategy, as no doubt many organisations have,” RAC WA general manager of corporate affairs Will Golsby said.

The Sunday Times reported that the Sport and Recreation Minister Mick Murray, while also refusing to discuss the deal, said however that the Western Australian government had no problems selling the naming rights.

“There was some contention when the Optus Stadium naming rights deal was announced, but we have all seen the sky hasn’t fallen in,” Murray told the newspaper. “Perth Arena is a world-class venue now and it will remain so, whatever it is called.”

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