IT’S COMCAST ARENA!

Published 1:04 pm Thursday, August 23, 2007

Comcast Corp. is paying $7.5 million in cash and advertising for a decade of naming rights to the Everett Events Center, home of the Everett Silvertips hockey team.

The deal was announced this morning by the public agency that oversees the $71.5 million entertainment complex.

The building that has put new energy into downtown Everett will be called Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center the first year, then Comcast Arena at Everett for the remaining nine years.

Keeping Everett in the name was particularly important as the contract was being hammered out, said Everett City Councilman Mark Olson, a member of the event center’s board.

The 10,000-seat Everett Events Center opened in October 2003 and has been credited with attracting new shops and customers to Everett’s downtown, which had been deteriorating for a number of years.