Wednesday, September 15, 2004
PAUL WYCHETHE SAGINAW NEWS
In Michigan, concertgoers have The Palace, The Fox and now -- TheDow.
Dow Chemical Co. today announced a 10-year, $2.5 million corporate sponsorship deal with the Saginaw County Event Center, which officials will rename TheDow Event Center.
The deal provides added financial security to the facility Saginaw County voters supported in 2001 with a 10-year tax plan that allowed a more than $14 million renovation and a new management company, SMG, to come aboard.
The development also enticed businessman Dick Garber to bring the Saginaw Spirit, a minor league hockey team, to the center.
Officials will rename Unity Hall and Heritage Theater the Hall at TheDow Event Center and the Theater at TheDow Event Center, officials said.
Saginaw County Controller Marc A. McGill said Wendler Arena, named after former Saginaw Mayor Paul Wendler, will keep its name at the entertainment complex.
"He's got a legacy here in the community," said McGill, chairman of the Saginaw County Building Authority, which oversees the center. "That facility is there in large part because of him."
Wendler said today he told those involved with the naming rights he would support whatever was best for the home of the Saginaw Spirit, but also said among all the accolades he has received in a decades-long public service career he considers his name on the side of the arena the highest honor.
The County Building Authority met this morning and recommended to the Saginaw County Board of Commissioners to accept the name change. The county board today voted to make the deal official.
For Dow, the sponsorship gives it some much needed positive press.
Over the last two years or so, dioxin contamination claims from residents living along the Tittabawassee River floodplain have dogged the Midland-based chemical giant.
"Sure it's good P.R., but in general it will reduce annual expenses for the Event Center," said Robert Van Deventer, president of the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce.
"It's like someone making your car payment every month."
Under the partnership, Dow will pay $250,000 a year for the naming rights. The county will split the money with the Saginaw Spirit hockey team, which has the responsibility of marketing and advertising inside the center, and SMG-Event Center operating budget to cover repairs the renovation didn't cover, McGill said.
Any rollback in the tax levy, still undecided, wouldn't occur until after fiscal year 2006 at the earliest, he said.
McGill lauded the sponsorship as an economic trigger that will bring more businesses downtown.
The county, which owns the facility, looked for a Fortune 500, American-owned company that makes products in the United States that improve quality of life and has a "significant presence" in mid-Michigan, McGill said.
"We didn't want the Miller Lite Dome," he said.
Since SMG began managing the 3-decade-old former Saginaw Civic Center, it has played host to superstars such as Jerry Seinfeld, Prince and Bill Cosby. Officials say attendance has risen and the tax subsidy to keep the doors open has gradually shrunk.
The Dow sponsorship serves to quiet fears of critics who raised their eyebrows in August when Event Center General Manager Allan C. Vella announced his decision to leave Saginaw to lead Ford Park in Beaumont, Texas.
Vella has maintained SMG "wouldn't miss a beat" and that its commitment to Saginaw remains firm.
Dow's sponsorship deal is proof, he said.
"We've talked with several companies about naming rights, but this was the best fit," Vella said.
"We're thrilled to be with a Fortune 500 company, and it lends greater credit to the entertainment complex."
Zane Collings, 33, will replace Vella on Monday, Sept. 27, although he's already working at the Saginaw center.
"Dow will bring another level of excitement and a level of community support and pride," he said.
With a decade of experience, Collings most recently managed the Sovereign Center and Sovereign Performing Arts Center in Reading, Pa. -- similar in size to the Event Center. Before that, he was the director of operations at the New Haven Coliseum, a 10,000-seat arena, and the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury.
"I feel like I'm leaving the facility in really good hands," Vella said. "He's been groomed and trained appropriately and he's incredibly enthusiastic about jumping into this market."
Andrew Liveris, president and chief operating officer at Dow, called his company's partnership with the county another example of Dow's support of mid-Michigan.
"Going into our third year as a sponsor of the Saginaw Spirit," he said, "and with about 30 percent of our employees and retirees residing in the Saginaw/Bay area, we wanted to reinforce our commitment by investing in a facility that is very important to our community." t
Paul Wyche and Barrie Barber are staff writers for The Saginaw News. You may reach Wyche at 776-9674 and Barber at 776-9725.
© 2004 Saginaw News
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.