News broke this afternoon that the Orlando Magic is looking to change the name of The Amway Center (story HERE).
Thank god…
The Amway brand has been a stain on our go-to venue for over 17 years, dating back to the “O-rena” or Amway Arena that preceded the Amway Center.
Visitors to Orlando make fun of the brand. While by definition not a pyramid scheme, many people still think of it that way. When the rights first came down, fans from other markets that outnumber us in town often called it “The Big Pyramid”.
The truth is that fans still connect a naming rights sponsor to a venue. Myself, along with many other Orlando residents still call Camping World Stadium the Citrus Bowl. Although with their recent tourism revenue demands the “Give Us More Money” stadium could also be considered accurate.
But it’s a new day. Time to hopefully find a sponsor that can make us say the name of the venue proudly.
Hopefully, it’s an honorable brand.
People might lean towards Disney or Universal but given how poorly they treat this community, that would just be a reward for their lack of community contributions.
The right call would be something related to tech. Elected officials in Orlando keep trying to emphasize the diversification of our economy but we always end up bowing to tourism anyway. That’s why they keep most of the revenue that we earn working in their hotels and parks.
But even if it does end up being another piece on the tourism chessboard, it will still be better than The Amway Center.
Thank goodness that era is drawing to an end.
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