AUBURN — Norway Savings Bank will pay the city $770,000 for the 10-year naming rights for the new dual-surface ice arena and the main rink’s center ice.
“We could not be more proud to have a partner that is an anchor for Western Maine — just as Lewiston-Auburn wishes to be,” Mayor Jonathan LaBonte said.
The facility will be called the Norway Savings Bank Arena, LaBonte said. The sponsorship is a big step for the facility.
“A company with a vision like Norway Savings Bank — a company with a commitment to community as part of their business — has chosen to be here, with us, in this facility,” LaBonte said.
The rink is scheduled to open sometime in November. Rink Manager Josh MacDonald said he’s pushing to make it as early in November as possible.
“You will notice that boards and glass are missing around us, but they should be in place next week,” he said.
MacDonald said seats and bleachers in the main rink should be finished next week, as well.
The first rink and the arena’s locker rooms should open in November. The second surface should be finished in January and the second-floor mezzanine — with warm areas for spectators, offices and concessions — is to open in February. A grand opening is tentatively set for early February.
The arena is being built just off Turner Street near the Auburn Mall and overlooking Shaw’s Supermarket and Center Street. The facility will be surrounded by a 380-space parking lot.
The rink will mean good things for business, including hotels, restaurants and shops, LaBonte said.
“From the Hilton, I am hearing good things that as we book tournaments, rooms are getting booked at their facility,” LaBonte said. “The restaurants are buzzing with activity and a new sporting-goods facility will be open nearby by this time next month.”
MacDonald told councilors in August that he expects the facility to bring in about $1.18 million in revenues, with an estimated $1.17 million in expenses for 2014.
Patricia Weigel, president of Norway Savings Banks, said the sponsorship underscores the bank’s commitment to Auburn.
“We plan to be here for many years, not just as a business, but as a member of your community,” she said.
The bank opened a branch in Great Falls Plaza in June.
“Since then, we have been looking for a way to let the people of Lewiston and Auburn know that we appreciate the warm welcome we have received since coming to town,” Weigel said.
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- This is an artist’s rendering of Auburn’s Norway Savings Bank Arena, a two-rink ice skating facility that opened in November 2013. Norway Savings Bank signed a 10-year agreement to pay $770,000 for the naming rights to the facility.
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- Patricia Weigel, president of Norway Savings Bank
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- Kathleen Desilva, account planner for Rinck Advertising, passed out commemorative pucks as Norway Savings Bank officials announced they’ve signed for the naming rights.
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