After "more than a year of contentious negotiations,"
the partners in the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena
yesterday "found a way to settle how naming-rights revenues
would be split," according to Dan Kane of the Raleigh NEWS &
OBSERVER. With the deal, NC State Univ., the Hurricanes and
the Centennial Authority also "tied up several loose ends
from prior agreements that had caused repeated money
disputes" since the arena opened in October '99. Centennial
Authority Chair Steve Stroud said after the deal, "I just
don't anticipate any major problems from here on." Kane
writes that the agreement "paves the way" for the Hurricanes
parent company, Gale Force Holdings, to sell naming rights
to the $167M arena. Gale Force President Jim Cain said that
he will start marketing the rights immediately, but
"predicted a deal won't be completed until the start of next
season." Cain "has set his sights on getting at least" $80M
for a 15-to-20 year deal. Last night's agreement also "sets
aside nearly" $22M in naming rights revenues for a "capital
improvement fund" for the arena (NEWS & OBSERVER, 12/20).
