Bridgestone Arena - Naming Rights

Naming Rights

The arena's original name when opened in 1996 was Nashville Arena. Designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport) in conjunction with the Nashville based architecture/engineering firm Hart Freeland Roberts, INC., it was designed at an angle on the corner of Broadway and 5th Avenue in Nashville in physical homage to the historic Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. In 1999, the arena was renamed Gaylord Entertainment Center (GEC) after a 20-year, $80 million naming rights contract was signed between the Predators and Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Company, which at the time held part-ownership of the team.

In February 2005, it was announced that the Predators and Gaylord (which had earlier sold its stake in the team) had reached an agreement terminating any further involvement between them, and that the Gaylord name would remain on the building only until a new purchaser could be found for the naming rights. As a result, many in the Nashville media quickly reverted to calling the facility by its original name. With the beginning of the 2006 season, the Predators began referring to the arena by its original name as well. In doing so, the team replaced the "Gaylord Entertainment Center" wordmark on the center ice circle with the original "Nashville Predators" wordmark from the inaugural season. The "Gaylord Entertainment Center" name, however, was still displayed on the building's exterior signage at this point.

The facility was officially renamed the Nashville Arena again and all Gaylord signage was removed from the building's exterior on March 16, 2007.

On May 18, 2007, Sommet Group, a Franklin, Tennessee-based collection of companies whose services include human resources administration, payroll processing, software development, computer repair, insurance, and risk management bought the naming rights to the arena, and it became known as Sommet Center. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company had previously been the corporate title sponsor for the Predators during the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. The agreement had lasted little more than two years when the Predators sued the Sommet Group on November 25, 2009 for breach of contract, alleging the latter had failed to make numerous payments under the naming rights agreement. As part of the suit, the Predators stated intentions to seek a new title sponsor for the arena. Sommet Group's headquarters were later raided by the FBI and IRS due to suspicion of fraudulent activities, and the company subsequently filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated.

Unlike the Gaylord parting-of-ways, Sommet Group's name was stripped from all signage inside and outside the arena as soon as the team was legally allowed to do so. The building briefly resumed using the Nashville Arena moniker until February 23, 2010, when it was announced that the Predators had signed a naming rights deal with Bridgestone. The arena became known as Bridgestone Arena. Colloquially, Predators fans sometimes refer to the building as "The Tire Barn."