LA Olympics will keep 'Intuit' on Clippers arena as part of groundbreaking venue-naming deal

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The Intuit Dome will be called just that for the Los Angeles Olympics, after organizers struck a deal with the makers of tax and business software as part of a groundbreaking arrangement to sell naming rights for venues at the upcoming Summer Games.

Intuit also announced Friday that it is the latest “founding partner” for Los Angeles, which also signed Starbucks and Honda to agreements in a recent burst of momentum.

Honda is keeping its name on the arena in Anaheim — the host of volleyball — while the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, the regular home of the LA Clippers, will stage basketball games.

Though corporate naming rights are nothing new for arenas and stadiums across the United States, this will be the first time the Olympics will allow that sort of marketing. It's considered a groundbreaking arrangement that will net the Olympics multiple millions above its projected $7.15 billion budget.

“Casey Wasserman said from Day 1 that we wanted to run a games that was fiscally responsible,” John Slusher, the head of the organizers marketing push, said of the LA28 chairman. “The idea of naming rights is obviously one that we thought could add incremental value.”

Up to 19 venues, most of them temporary, could be available for naming rights. Companies that already have their name on an LA venue will have first chance to cut a deal with the Olympic organizers and venues will not be renamed — so, for instance, the home of the Rams, which is hosting opening and closing ceremonies and swimming, is set to be called “2028 Stadium,” not "SoFi."

The arrangement with Intuit includes the company providing free tax preparation for some U.S. athletes and expanding its financial education program for the LA community.

“Our commitment to powering prosperity aligns perfectly with the spirit of the movement,” Thomas Ranese, Intuit's chief marketing officer, said in a statement announcing the deal.

Slusher, who took over as head of marketing late last year, said LA feels good about its goal of selling between $800 million and $1 billion worth of deals in 2025 to get to the $2 billion mark in corporate sponsorships by the end of the year. The overall goal has been pegged at $2.5 billion, LA got off to a slow — some thought troubling — start, but has picked up momentum after what was widely viewed as a positive Summer Olympics in Paris last year.

“We feel really good about where we're at, and we have optimism going forward,” Slusher said.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games