Video – VCU holds off William & Mary

RICHMOND, Va. – To celebrate its tenth birthday, the building is getting a new name.

Virginia Commonwealth University Athletics is pleased to announce they have entered into a partnership with Verizon Wireless to rename their ten-year-old basketball venue the Verizon Wireless Arena.

“We are thrilled to have Verizon Wireless join our corporate partnership family,” said Norwood Teague, VCU Director of Athletics. “Verizon Wireless has global brand recognition and we feel this does nothing but enhance the stature of our arena.”

The 7,500-seat venue opened in 1999 and routinely hosts more than 150 events a year, including VCU Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Volleyball, the Virginia High School League basketball and volleyball playoffs, as well as high school graduations, concerts and the annual state robotics competition.

“From a sponsorship standpoint,” Teague said, “We feel that with their name on the building, Verizon Wireless will get an unprecedented amount of exposure and penetration in not only Central Virginia, but with many of our games on one of the ESPN Networks, nationwide as well.”

“As the leading wireless provider in the Richmond market, we’re very proud to have our name on the University’s outstanding arena,” said Mike Maiorana, president of Verizon Wireless in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC. “Because of its size and its prestige, VCU is a perfect showcase for our corporate brand, and this relationship shows our continuing commitment to VCU, and the Richmond area.”

The first official event in the newly-termed Verizon Wireless Arena at the Siegel Center will be the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies NBA Exhibition Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.