Citing a change in its overall business strategy, global IT utility company Savvis Inc. will terminate the naming rights deal it signed in 2000 with the Kiel Center, a sports and entertainment arena in St. Louis.
When the St. Louis-based company signed the 20-year, $62.1 million deal, the company’s focus was on the consumer market. The company, however, has since shifted its attention to B-to-B, said Savvis spokesman Carter Cromley.
“In 2000, we were a much smaller company with more of a consumer focus,” Cromley said. “Today we are much larger and focused exclusively on IT decision makers in the business marketplace.”
To get out of the deal, Savvis will pay arena-owners Kiel Center Partners, L.P. $5.5 million, and the Savvis name will remain on the building until a new partner is found. The building is home of the NHL St. Louis Blues, which has not played a game for more than a year due to the league’s lockout. The lack of an NHL season did not factor into Savvis’s decision, Cromley said.
“Naming rights programs are great for reaching consumers and other broad markets, but we believe they are not the best use of marketing resources for a highly targeted provider like Savvis,” Cromley said. “We’re committed to improving our financial results and position, and have made great strides in doing so over the last couple of years. This is one more way we can improve value for our stockholders.”
The company will begin the search for a new partner that will fit in well with the facility, the community and the St. Louis Blues organization, Kiel Center Partners’ President Mark Sauer said in a statement.
Network
