Charleston, W.Va.-based Vandalia Health will pay $10.06 million over 10 years for the naming rights to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, which will become the Vandalia Health Center, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported Oct. 22.
Vandalia, the city of Charleston and venue manager Oak View Group announced the agreement Oct. 13. The Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center and Municipal Auditorium Board approved the terms at a special meeting Oct. 19.
Vandalia will pay $712,500 for the partial first year and $950,000 in each of the following two years. After that, payments rise by $28,500 annually. The two sides can jointly extend the deal through two additional five-year terms.
The arena will become the Vandalia Health Coliseum and the meeting space the Vandalia Health Convention Center. The board, not Vandalia, will own the new name and logos.
Vandalia President and CEO Jeff Sandene tied the deal to workforce recruitment, noting the system recruits nurses, physicians and clinicians from multiple states. “The investment makes so much sense from recruitment,” Mr. Sandene said, according to WV MetroNews.
The board plans to use the payments to replace the city’s $670,000 annual operating subsidy for the venue, though the agreement does not require it. The venue underwent a roughly $100 million renovation in 2018.
Some residents criticized the name change on social media, WV MetroNews reported. Oak View Group will continue to manage the venue, and Mr. Sandene said new signage should go up before 2027.
Vandalia operates 18 hospitals and employs nearly 16,000 people. Mr. Sandene said the system has about $300 million in active projects in the region.
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