AEG Shanghai Arena Gets Name

A new stadium under construction at Shanghai’s World Expo site will be named the Mercedes-Benz Arena, the National Basketball Association and its joint venture partners in China announced Monday.

The 18,000-seat, clam-shaped Shanghai arena, under construction on the banks of the city’s Huangpu River, is one of a dozen planned by the NBA for China as it seeks to build on its huge fan base in China.

The naming rights will last for 10 years, the companies said in a statement.

The Shanghai facility is being jointly built by the NBA, promoter AEG and the local company Oriental Pearl Group. It will be the first arena in China to have a naming rights partnership.

“The new Mercedes-Benz Arena will reinforce Shanghai as a culturally rich city on the world map,” said Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd., a subsidiary of Daimler AG.

Earlier, NBA China, a joint venture of the NBA, broadcaster ESPN and Chinese companies, joined AEG and the Beijing Wukesong Culture and Sports Center to design, market, program and operate Beijing’s Olympic basketball venue.

The Shanghai arena will also include a cinema, public ice skating rink, bowling alley, live music club and retail space, the companies said.