Will the Charlottesville Pavilion become the nTelos Wireless Pavilion?
"It is my pleasure to announce to you that we have secured a naming rights sponsorship offer from the nTelos Wireless Corporation for a 5-year term beginning with the 2011 concert season," reads a letter from Charlottesville Pavilion General Manager Kirby Hutto to the city’s Office of Economic Development.
"It is our hope to immediately rename our venue the nTelos Wireless Pavilion," reads the letter, dated March 24. Hutto was not immediately available for comment.
The Pavilion had scheduled a press conference for today, but it was postponed so that City Council could consider the change at its April 4 meeting. The Pavilion rescheduled a press conference for Tuesday, April 5, where it will also announce the performer for this year’s Free Clinic Benefit.
According to the Council’s agenda, the city leased the land at the East end of the Downtown Mall to the Charlottesville Industrial Development Authority (now called the Charlottesville Economic Development Authority) in 2003. The authority, in turn, subleased the land to Charlottesville Pavilion, LLC, which serves as the venue’s operator.
That sublease stipulates that the operator can change the Pavilion’s name, provided that it doesn’t contain "lewd or pornographic terms" or the "name of a tobacco company." Charlottesville City Council must reach a decision within 30 days.
nTelos, a telecommunications company based in Waynesboro, also has a naming agreement with the nTelos Wireless Pavilion in Portsmouth, Virginia.
The Portsmouth venue’s logo.
Does it matter if venues bear corporate names?