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Golden 1 Acquires Naming Rights for Sacramento’s New Arena

By Ti Windisch

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As reported by Terry Lefton and Don Muret over at the SportsBusiness Journal, Sacramento-based credit union Golden 1 has secured the naming rights of the Sacramento Kings’ new arena, set to be called the Golden 1 Center.

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According to Lefton and Muret, the deal is for around $120 million over 20 years, meaning the Kings organization will receive $6 million annually from Golden 1 for the arena naming rights. Although this new naming deal is news, Golden 1’s affiliation with the Kings is not.

The credit union, founded in Sactown way back in 1933, currently holds naming rights for an entrance of Sleep Train Arena, meaning Golden 1 and the Kings probably had an easier time coming to terms on a deal considering their business history.

The Golden 1 Center will be just the latest on the list of Sacramento Kings arena names, following Sleep Train Arena, Power Balance Pavilion, and of course the classic ARCO Arena. So far ARCO has lasted the longest, holding naming rights for 26 seasons. Hopefully the Golden 1 Center is around for just as long.

Although sometimes I think these corporate names can make arenas sound silly (Smoothie King Arena, anyone?) I actually really like the Golden 1 Center. Considering Sacramento is the capital of the Golden State, and the team that will play in the arena is known as the Kings, it’s actually a really cool and fitting name.

I also like that this is a local company who’s been around Sactown for over 80 years. It makes the whole thing feel a little more wholesome. Well, about as wholesome as paying millions of dollars for the name of a building can feel, I suppose.

One last fun, writer-friendly piece about the new arena? It can be shortened quickly and easily down to G1. That’s so thoughtful of Golden 1 and the Kings, and it’ll really help us all out while we try to fit small stories into 140 characters.

The Golden 1 Center is slated to open it’s doors in October 2016, just in time for the 2016-17 NBA season. For the upcoming NBA season, however, Sacramento fans will still have to head to the Sleep Train Arena to watch their beloved Kings play.

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