After nearly two decades as the XL Center, Hartford’s roughly 16,000-seat sports and entertainment arena has a new name: the PeoplesBank Arena.
Holyoke, Massachusetts-based PeoplesBank has acquired the naming rights for the arena as part of a new sponsorship deal.
The bank, with $4.5 billion in assets, has been rapidly making inroads in Connecticut, opening its fifth Connecticut branch earlier this year in Avon. It expects to open a Glastonbury office later this month and at least one additional branch, possibly in downtown Hartford, late this year or early next.
It will pay an average of about $2 million annually for 10 years for the naming rights, with two, five-year extension options, officials said Monday.
“This is more than just a naming rights agreement for the city of Hartford and the state of Connecticut, this is a statement from PeoplesBank about who we are and who we are not, what we believe in and where we are headed together,” said Thomas Senecal, CEO and chairman of PeoplesBank.
Senecal’s comments came during a ceremony on the floor of the arena on Monday announcing the name. Press conference attendees included representatives from OVG, PeoplesBank and the Capital Region Development Authority, along with Gov. Ned Lamont.
Senecal acknowledged putting his bank’s name on the 225,000-square-foot arena was motivated by a desire to distinguish his bank from the similarly named People’s United Bank, a Bridgeport-based lender that was acquired by M&T Bank in 2022. The two are often confused, he noted.
PeoplesBank has made commercial loans in Connecticut for decades. It gained a physical foothold in the state in 2018 with its $60 million purchase of the First National Bank of Suffield.
Today, about $2.5 billion of its $4.5 billion commercial retail loan portfolio originated in Connecticut.
In addition to ongoing negotiations to lease space in downtown Hartford for a branch, PeoplesBank is searching for 6,000 to 7,000 square feet of office space for a corporate hub for its Connecticut operations. That hub would host about 15 to 25 staff, PeoplesBank Chief Financial Officer Hayes Murray said.
“We see this not only as a branding opportunity but a chance to participate in something larger, the economic rebirth of Hartford,” Senecal said.
XL Catlin, a Bermuda-based insurer and subsidiary of XL Group, had owned the XL Center’s naming rights since 2007 but decided not to renew its deal. The naming rights ran out on July 1, 2024, the start of the current fiscal year. XL paid about $490,000 for the name in the last year of its contract.
Even though the company was no longer paying for the name, officials opted against a change before a new sponsor was identified.
PeoplesBank, which also has 14 branches in western Massachusetts, is putting its name on the arena as the 50-year-old building is undergoing a roughly $145 million overhaul.
The renovation will add new premium seating, with exclusive back-room amenities, close to the floor. It is replacing seats in other areas and upgrading technology and other amenities. The effort is also shoring up major systems and structures, including a roof replacement, to keep the building viable for decades longer.
The XL Center closed in late May to allow work on theatrical rigging, lower bowl seating, stage relocation, construction of an event club bar and dining areas, premier “bunker suites” near the stage, new UConn and Wolf Pack locker rooms, concourse upgrades, elevator and escalator work and more.
It is expected to reopen in early October.
Owned by the city, the arena is overseen by the Capital Region Development Authority, a quasi-governmental agency tasked with economic development in and around Hartford. The CRDA, in turn, contracts management of the facility to Los Angeles-based Oak View Group, a global company specializing in live entertainment and venue management.
The CRDA and city have agreed to grant OVG a 20-year contract to manage Hartford’s arena in return for the company contributing $20 million toward the ongoing renovation project. State taxpayers are footing the rest of the bill. Under the agreement, which is expected to go in force by July 2026, OVG gets to pocket the first $4 million in annual profits from the venue, then split additional profits with the city.
OVG will also be on the hook for any operating deficits, which have run around $2 million annually in recent years.
PeoplesBank’s payment will come in as revenue for the arena, CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said. This means it could help offset any debt.
PeoplesBank will pay $850,000 for naming rights in the first year, growing to $2.4 million by the 10th year of the agreement, averaging about $2 million yearly, Freimuth said.
OVG leaders have expressed confidence that, with the upgrades they helped to plan, the arena will be able to attract more talent, shows and events.
“This building has made great memories,” Peter Luukko, OVG co-chairman said Monday. “They are in the bones of the building and we really just have to bring it up to standards.”
Event nights at the arena, especially for UConn sports, help fill downtown restaurants, hotels and other venues.The arena is also home to the American Hockey League’s Hartford Wolf Pack, an affiliate of the New York Rangers.
