BOSTON (AP) – A long-expected naming rights deal to put the Bank of America brand on the FleetCenter sports and entertainment arena has stalled, raising the possibility that the building could carry a new but familiar name: Boston Garden.

Despite its acquisition nearly eight months ago of FleetBoston Financial Corp., Bank of America Corp. has told arena managers that it is no longer interested in putting its own name on the building, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank originally planned to change the arena’s name to Bank of America Center, according to executives briefed on the negotiations, the Globe said.

But the bank has backed away from that name and instead floated the idea of changing the FleetCenter name to Boston Garden, the name of the former home of the NBA’s Celtics and the NHL’s Bruins. Boston Garden was demolished when the FleetCenter was built in 1995.

But Bank of America would have to pay a premium to change the name.

Negotiations between Bank of America and the FleetCenter, owned by Delaware North Cos., now are unlikely to end with either Fleet or Bank of America in the building’s name, the Globe said.

“We reached a final agreement on terms in September. Since then, conversations have stalled, and we haven’t made much progress,” said Richard A. Krezwick, president and chief executive of the FleetCenter.

Instead, Bank of America is trying to negotiate an exit for the remaining six years of its contract to name the FleetCenter, which could give other companies a chance to bid on naming rights, executives said.

A Bank of America spokesman, Joe Goode, said the bank and Delaware North were close to resolving the issue.

“I would characterize negotiations as taking a new direction,” Goode said.

Under Fleet Bank’s current contract at the FleetCenter, the bank was allowed to change the center’s name once. That change occurred when Fleet bought Shawmut National Corp., which had signed the original agreement to name the building the Shawmut Center.

Fleet pays $2 million a year to have its name on the FleetCenter. Delaware North has indicated it would like Bank of America’s new contract to match sponsorship agreements for other similar sports facilities, which can cost around $6 million a year.

Bank of America’s red-white-and-blue logo already has replaced Fleet’s green on advertising signs at two other Boston area professional sports arenas, Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium. Boston-area bank branches are due to make the name switch in December.