Deschutes County banks on new Event Center sponsor

Deschutes County announced Thursday that Bank of the Cascades will take over from Hooker Creek as the sponsoring partner of the county fairgrounds’ Event Center, in a five-year deal that will provide $200,000 in revenue for the facility.

County officials will join Bank of the Cascades management and local business leaders to celebrate the new five-year partnership next Wednesday afternoon at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Event Center in Redmond.

“We are very excited to have Bank of the Cascades as the newest sponsor at the Fair & Expo Center,” said fairgrounds Director Dan Despotopulos. “The mutual benefits of this agreement are numerous. We’re very happy to be in this partnership with a respected locally grown company that many county residents trust and appreciate.”

The five-year partnership begins this month, transitioning Event Center branding from “Hooker Creek” to “Bank of the Cascades.” For the length of the partnership, the Bank of the Cascades will receive signage and branding rights to the Event Center.

Desptopulos said Friday the agreement with the bank involves funding of $200,000 over a five-year period, at $40,000 a year — similar to the deal with Hooker Creek. He said the money goes into overall operating expenses.

Hooker Creek signed a deal in 2005 that called for the firm to pay $1 million in total over 25 years for naming rights, with parties revisiting the agreement in five-year increments, officials said.

Despotopulos said Hooker Creek “decided they didn’t want to go forward” with renewing the agreement for another five years, thus leading to the new naming partnership agreement with Bank of the Cascades.

County voters recently approved a room tax increase to fund more marketing efforts for the fairgrounds and Expo Center, so the bank’s name affixed to the facility will gain wider exposure, he acknowledged.

“We are extremely proud to partner with Deschutes County to sponsor the Bank of the Cascades Center, following in the footsteps of another great local company -Hooker Creek,” said Terry Zink, president and CEO of Bank of the Cascades.

“The Event Center is a premier resource in Central Oregon and strengthens our sense of community while serving everyone who lives here. It is integral to a wide variety of cultural, athletic, civic and community events and it is truly our pleasure to be part of this valued community gathering place.”

To celebrate the economic and social value the center brings to Central Oregon, Zink will unveil the new Bank of the Cascades Center signage at next week’s event.