Release Details

The announcement was made by Nashville Predators Owner Craig Leipold and Gaylord Entertainment President and Chief Executive Officer Terry E. London. The name change is effective immediately.

The arrangement is for 20 years and involves a first-year naming rights fee in excess of $2 million. With an annual escalation, the package will total approximately $80 million. The relationship also includes a ticket and luxury suite commitment, incorporates interior and exterior sign identification and provides promotional opportunities. Gaylord Entertainment Center identification will appear at center ice and on the rooftop of the one million-square-foot structure as well as on elements such as user and ticket personnel uniforms and on event tickets.

“Our naming rights partnership is an integral part of this franchise’s growth and operation, and we truly wanted a partner who is identified with Nashville and involved in the local community,” Leipold said. “Gaylord Entertainment was instrumental in bringing the Predators to Nashville, and this partnership is a natural extension of that relationship.”

As part of Gaylord Entertainment Center’s launch, Gaylord Entertainment and the Predators will host a spectacular evening of entertainment open to the entire Nashville community on Wednesday, September 29, featuring the introduction of the 1999-2000 Predators team. The evening’s proceeds will go to local charity. As part of the naming rights agreement, Gaylord Entertainment plans to sponsor community events at Gaylord Entertainment Center designed to raise funds for Nashville-based charities.

“Entertainment is our company’s middle name, and this facility has become the entertainment center of Nashville and Middle Tennessee,” London said. “We are proud to join with the Predators and Leisure Management to insure world-class entertainment, allowing Gaylord Entertainment Center to meet the needs of our growing community.

“Gaylord Entertainment believes strongly in downtown Nashville. Our renovation of the Ryman Auditorium, our opening of the Wildhorse Saloon and our contribution to the Country Music Hall of Fame demonstrate that commitment. This partnership reaffirms our commitment while allowing us to reach the diverse audiences who attend the more than 100 events that occur each year at Gaylord Entertainment Center.”

The naming-rights arrangement integrates the tradition of Gaylord Entertainment, which includes the Grand Ole Opry among is various properties, with the cutting-edge marketing, promotion and excitement of the Predators, an NHL franchise that just completed its first season. The Gaylord Entertainment Center, which opened in December 1996, already has won numerous awards. It was the Country Music Association’s Venue of the Year in 1998, and it won a Performance Magazine Award in 1999. It also has won awards for ADA compliance and acoustical design.

The Gaylord Entertainment Center, located in downtown Nashville at Broadway and Fifth Avenue, has spurred downtown growth and development in the last three years, inspiring further development that includes the Hilton Suites Hotel and the new Country Music Hall of Fame. It hosts more than 100 ticketed events each year, ranging from Predators and Nashville Kats games to concerts, ice shows and family shows. Additionally, the state-of-the-art facility hosts a number of conventions and business conferences and serves as the visitor’s center for Nashville, hosting more than 500,000 tourists annually.

“Gaylord Entertainment, headquartered here in Nashville, has made a significant commitment and contribution to the metropolitan area with more than 6,000 employees and is truly a hometown company,” Leipold said. “The name is a unique fit, given Gaylord Entertainment Center’s proximity to the Ryman Auditorium (the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974) and the new Country Music Hall of Fame, along with the company’s role in the entertainment world and its worldwide reach.”

In addition to being home of the Predators, Gaylord Entertainment Center also is home to the Arena Football League’s Nashville Kats. The facility already has hosted numerous concerts, including Amy Grant’s Christmas Special, the 1997 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships and several family shows, among them locally-produced Ronald McDonald Circus and the Longhorn Rodeo.

Gaylord Entertainment Center will host the NCAA Men’s Regional Tournament in 2000 and again in 2003 as well as the Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2001 and the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament in 2002.

Seating capacity for hockey is 17,298 and up to 20,000 for concerts. Gaylord Entertainment Center also includes meeting and convention space, locker rooms for home and visiting NHL and NBA teams, a 13,500-square foot rehearsal hall, the Arena Club restaurant, a 70-seat theater and the Predators Pro Shop. It has 72 luxury suites and 1,800 premium club seats.

Gaylord Entertainment Company is a diversified entertainment company with operations in hospitality and attractions, music and entertainment, and broadcasting and cable networks. Among its properties are WSM Radio and the Grand Ole Opry, the Opryland Hotel, Acuff-Rose Music Publishing, Word Entertainment, Z Music Television, Country Music Television International, the Wildhorse Saloon, the Ryman Auditorium, Cornerstone Sports, WWTN Radio and Opryland Productions. Its headquarters are in Nashville, Tenn.

The Nashville Predators drew 664,241 spectators to their first season of play, an average of 16,202 (94% of capacity) and attracted 17 sellouts, including 12 of their last 16 regular season home games. In addition, a recent study by Dr. Richard W. Oliver of Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management estimated the Predators’ economic impact on Nashville and Middle Tennessee to be $82 million during the team’s inaugural season. The study projected a five-year economic impact of more than $470 million.