Madison Square Garden and Seattle-based banking giant WaMu, formerly Washington Mutual, have reached a multi-year naming rights agreement for The Theater at Madison Square Garden. The venue is now the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, and work to install new signs on the Theater has already begun.
The deal only involves the 5,600-seat theater, not the larger Madison Square Garden. This is the first time that Madison Square Garden has entered into a naming rights agreement with a company for any of its properties.
Press releases state, "With more than 325 retail banking centers and nearly 5,000 employees in the New York area, WaMu's history of supporting entertainment in New York City has included an unprecedented "buy out" of all theater tickets on Broadway for a day and donating those tickets to teachers, serving as presenting sponsor of the musical sensation
Movin' Out, and creating entertaining, giant interactive Times Square billboards. In addition to the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, WaMu has naming rights to the WaMu Theater in Seattle, which opened last year."
The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden has hosted a variety of events over the past 30 years. Artists who have performed there include Neil Young,
Melissa Etheridge, Kanye West, Van Morrison,
Elton John and Simon & Garfunkel, and the venue has also hosted several sporting events, including the NBA and NFL draft and world championship prizefights. The venue has also hosted The Daytime Emmys and the Essence Awards, and has enjoyed a 10-year run of
A Christmas Carol and a 27-year run of
Sesame Street Live.
Visit www.thegarden.com for more information.
