Yum! Brands' current 10-year, $13.5M contract for the arena's naming rights was signed in '10GETTY IMAGES
Louisville Arena Authority Chair Scott Cox said the authority is "actively negotiating a naming rights renewal" with locally based Yum! Brands for the KFC Yum! Center, according to Marty Finley of the LOUISVILLE BUSINESS FIRST. Cox said that both parties are "interested in keeping the partnership going," but he did not disclose "any information about potential financial terms for such a deal." Finley noted the current 10-year, $13.5M contract Yum! Brands signed in '10 was the "product of more than five years of on-again, off-again conversations and negotiations" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/11). Cox said talks on extending the naming-rights deal are moving in the "right direction." Cox: "I believe they're very interested in continuing their relationship with us, just as we're interested in keeping them" (TWITTER.com, 3/11).
ENTER BAND FANS: In Louisville, Nick Hollkamp noted Metallica sold out a concert at the KFC Yum! Center Saturday night, which "broke an attendance record" at the arena. A crowd of 23,084 showed up, breaking the previous concert record set by George Straight in '14 (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 3/12).
