Farewell Taco Bell Arena

Once known as "The Pavilion," the Boise State Basketball and concert venue will have a new name before you know it.

When I moved to the Treasure Valley, I got to talking about concerts with one of our listeners and they mentioned that they had seen an artist at "The Pavilion" years ago.  Still pretty new to town, I just stared at them blankly and said "what's The Pavilion?"  If you transplanted to the Treasure Valley since 2004 like so many of us have, you may not have realized that "The Pavilion" was the old name of Taco Bell Arena.

It held that name from 1982 when it opened until the fast food giant signed a 15-year long contract for the naming rights (which ends in July 2019.)  At the time, they got the sponsorship at a steal of $4 million.  Don't roll your eyes at me and say $4 million isn't a steal.  Compare that to the deal Albertsons signed for the naming rights to the former Bronco Stadium in 2014. The Idaho based grocer paid $12.5 million to have their name on the "Home of the Blue."

There's no report on exactly how much naming rights for a new sponsor will run, but many predict the price will be similar to the Albertsons deal.

Who do you predict will take over the naming rights?