PROVIDENCE – For the last two decades, Rhode Island’s largest arena, which originally opened in 1972 as the Providence Civic Center, has been known as the Dunkin’ Donuts Center – or “The Dunk” for short.
But, there are now questions as whether or not the 13,000-seat downtown arena, home to both the Providence Bruins and the Providence College men’s basketball team, will still run on Dunkin’ when the current naming rights agreement between the prominent coffee and doughnut chain and the state expires next month.
R.I. Convention Center Authority Executive Director Daniel P. McConaghy told Providence Business News Wednesday that, when he was questioned Tuesday by the R.I. House Committee on Finance members, the authority is currently negotiating with Inspire Brands – the parent company of Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. – about possibly entering a new naming rights agreement for the arena. He also said the authority is exploring “any and all options” it may have for new naming rights “based on what’s best for taxpayers in Rhode Island.”
The current 10-year naming rights agreement the state has with Dunkin’ for the arena expires April 20, McConaghy said. It’s the second such 10-year agreement after the Providence Civic Center formally changed its name to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in 2001.
The authority receives $425,000 annually from Dunkin’ to have the arena named after the company, McConaghy said, plus it got an additional $50,000 last year due to an increase in the consumer price index.
McConaghy also said there is no deadline as to when an agreement needs to be reached, either with Dunkin’ or a new company, to have a name in place for the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. He did say Dunkin’ has offered to extend the conversations if more time is needed to reach an agreement, but declined to offer additional details, including if the authority is looking for another 10-year naming rights contract, citing the “sensitive” nature of the current negotiations.
“It’s a different world now, post-COVID,” McConaghy said. “[The new agreement] could vary. We will see what opportunity is out there, either with [Dunkin’] or another opportunity. I’m not sure.”
McConaghy said the authority is concerned about there being a financial shortfall if there is a gap in not having a naming rights agreement in place for the arena, but the authority is hoping to avoid that. He does hope that an agreement can be in place by the summertime.
“This stuff takes time. It’s not simple; it’s complicated,” McConaghy said. “There’s a lot of pieces to it in the value of the name, the signage and all those things. But the sooner we can get this settled, the better for all of us.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
