SPOKANE, Wash.–Gesa Credit Union has purchased sponsorship rights to the U.S. Pavilion in downtown Spokane for $2.6 million over the next 10 years.
The decade-long deal was reached with the Spokane Park Board and marks a first. A blue light show, a play on Gesa’s branding colors, was held to mark what will now be officially known as the Gesa Credit Union Pavilion.
The deal is not the only one in the market for the $5.6-billion Gesa CU, which in 2021 purchased the naming rights to the playing field at Washington State University’s Martin Stadium in Pulman, Wash. as part of a 10-year, $11 million agreement.
Long Search for Partner
According to the Spokesman, the park board has been seeking a naming rights sponsor for the U.S. Pavilion since 2019, although efforts were stalled in 2020 and 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Attempts to find an interested party in 2022 and 2023 were unsuccessful.
“The deal is not without controversy, with opponents arguing it is inappropriate to sell the naming rights to one of the city’s most iconic monuments,” the Spokesman reported. “In January, Mayor Lisa Brown expressed her opposition in a letter to the independent parks board, which had final approval in the matter.
CU Responds to Concerns
Brandon Allison, Vice President of Community Impact at Gesa, told the Spokesman that the credit union’s team met with the mayor after learning of her letter.
“We absolutely appreciate the mayor’s concerns and are very sensitive to them,” Allison told the publication. “We recognize the pavilion as a cornerstone of the community, and every decision we make is going to be respective of that.”
According to the Spokesman, perks included in the $2.6 million deal up for consideration are the right to updated signage in the pavilion in an area visible to traffic on Washington Street or the promenade, four branded social media posts per year, promotional booths 10 times a year, the right to install one permanent ATM at the pavilion, and complimentary tickets to events and park attractions, among many others.
The U.S. Pavilion was constructed ahead of the world’s fair coming to the Inland Empire in 1974.
