Kings to Lose the ‘Arco’ in Arco Arena

The partnership between Sacramento’s hoops team and the oil company under whose name they play in is coming to an end. From the Sac Bee: “After a quarter century, the Arco name is coming down from the arena that houses the Sacramento  Kings, forcing the struggling basketball team to scramble in tough times to find a replacement sponsor. The Kings’ contract with the Arco oil company will expire in February, but company officials say the Arco Arena name will remain in place through the end of the upcoming season. The parting of ways comes at a difficult moment for the Kings, with fewer and fewer businesses willing or able to dole out the millions of dollars that major league naming- rights deals typically draw. Arco Arena itself has taken a public relations hit in the past few years — characterized by the National Basketball Association as an aging, inadequate facility that needs to be replaced. The NBA faces player contract negotiations next year, with the possibility that a labor stalemate could cause a lockout, further reducing the advertising value of basketball arenas.”