Amalie Arena: What Do You Think of the Name?

Say goodbye to the Tampa Bay Times Forum and hello to the Amalie Arena.

That’s the news out downtown Tampa where the naming rights for the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning have once again been sold to the highest bidder.

The newspaper’s name will soon come down to be replaced by Amalie, a motor oils and industrial lubricants company based in Port Tampa Bay, according to Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment, LLC. The announcement of the new naming deal came down Wednesday afternoon.

Once known as the Ice Palace, the downtown venue was renamed in honor of the newspaper about 12 years ago.

Naming rights deals are nothing new across the country and especially in Tampa Bay where the amphitheater has gone from Ford to 1-800-ASK-GARY to MidFlorida Credit Union in the blink of an eye. It’s about revenue for the venues and marketing for the buyers as evidenced by Amalie’s co-owner Harry Barkett’s statements during the official announcement.

“Well, Lucas Oil is a competitor, and years ago when they made their deal for naming rights to a stadium, we thought ‘These guys are crazy.’ Well, now here we are,” The Tampa Tribune quoted Barkett as saying.

What do you think about the new name? Tell us by commenting below!