Smoothie King Secures Naming Rights to New Orleans Pelicans Arena

NBA franchise New Orleans Pelicans are set to announce later on Thursday a 10-year naming rights deal that will result in their home being called the Smoothie King Center.

Franchisor Smoothie King, which has 675 stores in the U.S., South Korea and Singapore, will get its logo all over the arena and have two kiosks that will serve smoothies at the venue’s events. 

“Our mission is to invest locally, regionally, nationally and internationally,” said Tom O’Keefe, Smoothie King’s president and COO. “This deal satisfies all those goals.”

The entrance will feature two 20-foot high Smoothie King cups that will be in place in time for next weekend’s NBA All-Star Game. The company’s logo will also be on the roof of the arena.

O’Keefe said the deal took a long time to put together because the company wanted to be seen as athlete-friendly.

Although the state of Louisiana owns both this arena and the Superdome, the naming rights of which were sold to Mercedes-Benz, the marketing teams of Pelicans and Saints owner Tom Benson consummated both deals.

Pelicans president Dennis Lauscha said such a deal had been a “gigantic” piece of owner Benson’s business plan since he bought the long-struggling small-market franchise from the NBA in the spring of 2012.

“Finding a naming rights partner was key to the long-term financial viability of this franchise in this market,” Lauscha said.

Team officials said there were “two or three” other candidates for a naming rights deal, but that Smoothie King’s interests seemed most aligned with the Benson’s goals of promoting the business climate in his home state.

“There’s no more perfect story to say how businesses can root themselves in New Orleans and grow,” said Rita Benson LeBlanc, Benson’s granddaughter and a part owner of the Pelicans and Saints. She added that the agreement is “a testament to how New Orleans has recovered [from Hurricane Katrina] and how Louisiana is redefining itself as an economic development engine.”