Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter will have to find another venue to name after his clothing company Rocawear. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority has decided to award naming rights to competing clothing maker Izod.
The building just east of New York City, formerly called Continental Airlines Arena, will now be called the Izod Center, reports the Associated Press.
Continental Airlines Inc. paid $1.3 million a year for the naming rights, but opted to take its name off the 26-year-old building now that the New Jersey Devils NHL team is leaving for the new Prudential Center in Newark. Izod's 5-year deal is for roughly the same amount, according to the AP.
Rocawear was co-founded by Jay-Z, the Def Jam Records president who is also part-owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets, who play at the arena. The team plans to move to a proposed new arena in Brooklyn sometime after the 2008-2009 season.
Izod, a division of clothing and apparel maker Phillips Van Heusen Corp., is already a sponsor of the Nets. Authority officials said Izod's marketing skills were a major factor in their decision to award the company the naming rights, noting that Izod would save the authority money by providing its own marketing and advertising for arena events.
"It gives us a whole new set of tools to attract the entertainment shows and concerts to our facilities," Goldberg said.
The arena logo will be changed a few days prior to the New Jersey Nets first home game on Oct. 31, Goldberg said, and the official unveiling will be held during the game.
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