Perth Arena will become RAC Arena on September 1

The WA government has finally confirmed that from September 1, Perth Arena will become RAC Arena.

The five-year deal with the 113-year-old WA-owned Royal Automobile Club (RAC) for a reported $10 million was announced two months ago by The Sunday Times.

Since opening in 2012 with an Elton John show, the venue on Wellington Street has hosted music superstars as The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Pink, Celine Dion and Katy Perry.

It draws almost 1 million patrons to 80 entertainment and sports events a year.

Queens of the Stone Age are booked there in September, followed by Cher a month later.

Last year, the venue was ranked as #5 in Billboard’s top worldwide venues of its size for ticket sales.

In its first quarter of 2018 report, Pollstar placed it as 35^th best performing arena in the world, selling 81,447 tickets in that period.

Michael Scott, general manager of the arena said, “Having been a close partner since 2013 we’re very excited to announce RAC as our new naming rights partner.

“RAC is a brand synonymous with excellent member service, and with over a million West Australians being RAC members, it’s a brand we know and trust.”

Earlier this year the RAC set up a braded lounge in the arena for its members.

Sport and recreation minister Mick Murray stated, “Perth Arena is recognised by promoters, artists and sporting teams as one of the greatest entertainment venues in the world.

“We are delighted RAC has been able to beat out national competition in securing this deal, making sure the State’s world-class arena is attached to a truly local organisation.”

However, the naming rights are sure to ignite a debate.

The former premier Colin Barnett was determined that, for global tourism reasons, it retain ‘Perth’ in its name.

It turned down a reported $1.4 million a year offer from financial services corporation Suncorp to change its name to Suncorp Arena.

AEG Ogden, which operates the arena on behalf of the state government, has been paid almost $8 million as compensation for not being able to sell the naming rights.

The current government’s argument is that the commercial sale of the name was essential as it inherited a large debt from the Barnett regime, and that a name change would not change the venue’s operation and global reputation.