PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Monday night, Port St. Lucie City Commissioners approved a plan to rename the city's civic center.
Mid-Florida Credit Union agreed to pay $195,000 annually for the next five years for naming rights.
While the exact name for the new facility has not been nailed down, the city is looking at rebranding the facility as an events center to bring in more events, and visitors, from around the region.
City Manager Russ Blackburn says it’s a good opportunity to help a city facility that has long struggled to turn a profit.
“One of the things we’ve sought to do over the years is to find ways to have public/private partnerships to reduce our taxpayer funded costs to operate the civic center," said Blackburn.
The 100-thousand square foot building opened during the heart of the recession in 2008. It was initially envisioned to be the heart of a new downtown, but developer proposals to build other commercial and residential buildings around it have never come to fruition.
In recent years, city council has pushed for improved occupancy rates in its ballroom facilities.
Some years ago, Humana paid for the right to name the fitness center inside.
