Bank of America giving up FleetCenter naming rights; reportedly paid $2 million-plus to get out of deal

BOSTON (AP) _ Now that the Fleet bank chain has been swallowed up by Bank of America, the FleetCenter is on track to get a new name. <br/><br/>Bank of America Corp., which acquired FleetBoston Financial

Wednesday, January 5th 2005, 10:02 am

By: News On 6

BOSTON (AP) _ Now that the Fleet bank chain has been swallowed up by Bank of America, the FleetCenter is on track to get a new name.

Bank of America Corp., which acquired FleetBoston Financial last year for $48 billion, is giving up naming rights to the arena, officials from the arena's owner, Delaware North, and the bank said Wednesday.

Financial terms of the agreement were not released. The Boston Globe reported that Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America would pay $2 million to $3 million to get out of the final six years of the 15-year, $30 million naming rights deal.

The old name will remain in place until a new naming deal can be arranged for the arena, which is home to the NBA's Boston Celtics and the NHL's Boston Bruins and hosted the Democratic National Convention last summer.

``Our company has enjoyed a valuable partnership with Delaware North and the FleetCenter for the better part of the last decade,'' Bank of America's president of the Northeast region, Anne Finucane, said in a statement.

The FleetCenter opened in 1995 to replace the legendary Boston Garden. It was to be called the Shawmut Center, but Shawmut National Corp. was bought by Fleet Financial Group before any signs went up.