Orlando Goes Amway

The TD Waterhouse Arena in Orlando will become Amway Arena thanks to a naming rights deal that was expected to be announced December 7th.

The Ada, Mich., company will be the named sponsor for the next four years and has the initial exclusive option to negotiate for the right to name the team’s proposed new arena, according to the Orlando Sentinel, citing an anonymous city official familiar with the deal.

Finding a name sponsor for the home of the Orlando Magic NBA team was a little easier than typical sponsor searches – Magic owner Rich DeVos co-founded Amway Corp. in 1985.

The name, which had not yet been formally announced at press time, requires approval from Orlando’s city council, which was expected at its December 11th meeting.

Amway will pay the city $1.5 million, or $375,000 a year, for the naming rights, according to the paper. TD Waterhouse annually paid about $1.7 million but most of the money reportedly went to the Magic.

It’s not clear if the Magic will receive any money from the Amway deal, according to the Sentinel.