On Tuesday night, City Council voted 6-1 to accept a $5.75 million bid from Harrah’s Cherokee for naming rights of the Civic Center, now known as the U.S. Cellular Center. As of Jan. 1, 2020, the name of the building will be Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville.
Harrah’s bid came in several million dollars above U.S. Cellular’s bid (of $920,000) to renew their contract for another 3-5 years. It gives naming rights to Harrah’s for five years, with the possibility of extending for another five years (10 total). Despite concerns that the name would pull tourists away from Asheville + promote gambling, the only council member who voted against the offer was Julie Mayfield.
What does that $5.75 million include? Let us break it down for you.
- An annual naming license fee for the Civic Center and the Civic Center Parking Garage
- $3 million earmarked for renovations + improvements at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
- $750,000 for improving fan experience, including public Wi-Fi and digital video boards
- $250,000 for replacement of all signage and branding to display the new name
- Funding for debt services incurred from renovations from 2011-14. DYK: 2011 was the first year Civic Center naming rights were available to bidders, and was when the building was renamed the U.S. Cellular Center.
- A primary goal of the city was to enhance customer + artist experience at the venue as much as possible.
The agreement will not change the name of either the ExploreAsheville.com Arena or the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Rather, the whole building will be renamed.
Tuesday’s vote concludes a process that began last summer to explore licensing agreements. Last year, 233,298 people attended events at the U.S. Cellular Center.
Check out all of the events happening at the U.S. Cellular Center here. Have more questions about the bidding process? Read our earlier piece here.