MCI Center Could Be Latest Facility Looking For A New Name

Washington Sports & Entertainment Chair Abe Pollin "around 1995 borrowed about $40[M] at a set interest rate from MCI to help him pay for the privately financed arena" in downtown DC, according to Thomas Heath of the WASHINGTON POST. Pollin also sold the naming rights to MCI for $44M. It is "not clear how much of the loan from MCI/WorldCom to Washington Sports is still owed, if any, but it likely would be a valuable asset in a bankruptcy proceeding. By the same token, the naming rights probably would be one of the first liabilities that it would default on." The naming rights payments are scheduled for about 12 installments, most of which are for over $4M. To date, "six or seven annual installments are estimated to have been made, most in the first quarter of the year." The Bonham Group Chair Dean Bonham said that if the naming rights revert back to Washington Sports, they "could probably sell them for an equal, if not greater, amount than the current contract." Bonham added, "The MCI Center is one of the premier facilities in the country. And there is a strong feeling that the Wizards are going to be a serious team to contend with for the next few years. The MCI Center has a lot going for it" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/28).