Want Naming Rights to the Kimmel Center? That’ll be $25 Million

It could lead to a windfall of up to $181 million for the organization.

From Property: Orchestra performances, the Pennsylvania Ballet, Thinkfest, whatever your reason for going to the Kimmel Center, we bet you haven’t enjoyed the venue from this angle: a free Arts & Architecture tour will be given at the Kimmel this Saturday, as they are every Saturday for if you weren’t in the know. The tour includes a highlight of the Kimmel’s architectural details, displayed artwork (including the Moore Galleries and Percent for Art Collection) and an exterior examination of the building in context with the Philadelphia cityscape. Tours are given on a first-come, first served basis and are limited to 20 guests. More details here.

Your name here.

The Philadelphia Inquirer offered some insight this morning into what the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts hopes to gain by selling its naming rights. Yes, like a professional sports team, the organization hopes to see a windfall of profits for the right to place a corporate or private name on the building.

Here’s how it breaks down:

  • About $25 million gets you “the space between the two main halls, currently known as Commonwealth Plaza,” the story says.
  • For $100 million, you get “a new umbrella name for its entire ‘campus’ — which includes the Academy of Music and Merriam Theater” and the “two halls under the soaring glass dome at Broad and Spruce Streets.”
  • For “considerably less” you can get “entrances, staircases, or escalators and ancillary spaces.”

“If the naming rights to the plaza, full campus, and PIFA were sold in perpetuity for the amounts the Kimmel seeks, the center could raise between $130 million and $181 million,” the story says

Wait, doesn’t Sidney Kimmel have the naming rights for pledging $12 million back in 1993? The Inquirer reports that Kimmel President and CEO Anne Ewers says she “had the blessing of arts center namesake Sidney Kimmel to name the entire campus and rename the organization.”

The organization recently conducted a study on the topic but hasn’t yet named any naming-rights partners.

Read the full article here.