Baltimore Arena renamed to Royal Farms Arena
Baltimore based convenience store chain to become naming rights partner for Baltimore’s largest indoor sports and entertainment facility
September 18, 2014 (Baltimore, MD) – SMG, the City of Baltimore and Royal Farms, the Baltimore-based convenience store chain, today officially announced a long-term partnership that will include naming rights for Baltimore’s largest indoor sports and entertainment facility.
The Arena will now be known as Royal Farms Arena, effective immediately. The naming rights partnership was announced jointly by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Arena General Manager Frank Remesch, and Royal Farms Director of Marketing Frank Schilling after the City’s Board of Estimates formally approved the agreement Wednesday morning. In addition to a new official Arena logo, visitors to the historic venue can expect to see a substantial Royal Farms presence throughout the interior & exterior of the building.
As part of the deal, Royal Farms will be prominently featured in the Arena’s event advertising, including the launch of a re-branded web site at www.royalfarmsarena.com on Friday, September 19th. Royal Farms & Arena staff will work together to promote events through the 160+ Royal Farms stores in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware & Pennsylvania.
The partnership was negotiated by Legends Global Sales on behalf of the City of Baltimore and SMG.
“Since opening their doors in Baltimore, Royal Farms has become a local icon and a devoted partner, and I am pleased that they will be the Arena’s new title sponsor,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. “When we issued the request for proposal (RFP), we knew that this could be a great opportunity to generate additional revenue for the City, and we are thrilled about what this agreement will mean for Baltimore.”
Frank Remesch, General Manager of the Arena said, “SMG and the Arena are proud to welcome Royal Farms, another longstanding Baltimore institution, to our team. This partnership is going to be a home run for both parties. We hope that the people of Baltimore are as excited about this partnership as we are.”
Frank Schilling, Director of Marketing and Merchandising for Royal Farms added, “We thought that the naming-rights deal was an excellent opportunity for us to expand our branding effort and our brand reach and this move solidifies Royal Farms’ identity as a Baltimore-based business. This arrangement brings together two venerable Baltimore institutions.”
About Royal Farms Arena:
Owned by the City of Baltimore and managed by SMG, Royal Farms Arena seats up to 14,000 people and hosts upwards of 800,000 patrons annually across 125+ event dates – from national concert tours to professional & NCAA sports to family shows. Billboard Magazine has consistently ranked the Arena as one of the top ten venues in North America; including twice being named number one. Located in the heart of downtown Baltimore, the Arena is mere steps away from the historic Inner Harbor. Royal Farms Arena has hosted nearly every major touring act since 1963 including: The Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Johnny Cash, Jackson 5, and Led Zeppelin; and more recently: U2, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake, Jay Z, Pearl Jam, Rihanna, George Strait, and UFC.
About SMG:
Founded in 1977, SMG provides management services to more than 220 public assembly facilities including convention and exhibition centers, arenas, stadiums, theatres, performing arts centers, equestrian facilities, science centers and a variety of other venues. With facilities across the globe, SMG manages more than 14.4 million square feet of exhibition space and over 1.75 million sports and entertainment seats. As the recognized global industry leader, SMG provides venue management, sales, marketing, event booking and programming, construction and design consulting, and pre-opening services for such landmark facilities as McCormick Place & Solider Field in Chicago, Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Houston’s Reliant Park and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
For more information visit www.smgworld.com
About Royal Farms:
The Royal Farms legacy began in 1959 when its parent company, Cloverland Dairy opened its first “White Jug” store in Baltimore City. Beginning about that time home delivery of milk products was being replaced by the availability of these products in in larger grocery stores. The “White Jug” store was a convenient location for customers to pick up dairy products that had originally been delivered to their homes. Over the years the store began selling other convenience items to its customers. As the industry evolved, the name was changed to Royal Farm Stores and then to Royal Farms.
Today, Royal Farms has become a regional powerhouse and currently has 160 stores throughout Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The roots of the company are much deeper in Maryland history. In 1919, the business was born when the three Kemp brothers from Baltimore started Cloverland Dairy as a producer of milk and dairy products. It was after 40 years in the dairy business that they started the “White Jug” retail operation to distribute those products.
As a family company with deep ties to the community, Royal Farms and Cloverland Dairy employ thousands of people in the region.
Today, every Royal Farms is built to LEED environmental standards, using programs to recycle water and waste products while also choosing low impact construction materials and ultra-high efficiency systems.
For more information visit: www.royalfarms.com