MERC Looks to Add Income Through Naming Rights

PORTLAND-The manager of the Oregon Convention Center, Portland Center for the Performing Arts and Portland Exposition Center is working with Front Row Marketing of Tampa, FL to sell corporate naming and sponsorship opportunities at its facilities, which attract more than two million people annually.

Following in the footsteps of the nation’s sports complexes, the Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission plans to generate revenue from branding awareness and advertising exposure to enhance strategic initiatives and capital programs. Front Row has been working with MERC for the past year. Last week’s announcement of the relationship likely means MERC and Front Row are confident they will be able to close a significant corporate naming and sponsorship deal by the middle of next year, according to sources familiar with the process.

“These past several month were the silent phase, the cultivation phase” one source familiar with the process tells GlobeSt.com. “You like to get pretty far down the road with potential sponsors before you make an announcement.”