RiverCentre Convention Center to unveil new name at May 20 celebration event in St. Paul
St. Paul, MN (May 18,1999) - Preparations are underway for a May 20 celebration of RiverCentre’s first anniversary and the public unveiling of the new name and logo for the year-old convention center of the RiverCentre complex in downtown St. Paul.
Beginning May 20, the convention center will be named Touchstone Energy® Place at RiverCentre. Touchstone Energy® is a national alliance of over 540 electric cooperatives. The new retail marketing organization for this region’s electric cooperatives, EnPower of Maple Grove, Minnesota, successfully negotiated purchase of the right to name the convention facility for $2.5 million over 10 years. The RiverCentre Authority approved the arrangement last fall.
RiverCentre is the umbrella name for the entire convention, entertainment and sports complex, which includes Touchstone Energy® Place, Roy Wilkins Auditorium and an 18,500 seat arena now under construction and scheduled for completion in September, 2000. The name of each facility will be followed by the words “at RiverCentre.”
Representatives of Touchstone Energy® and RiverCentre have been working since late last year to develop the name, logo and signage for the St. Paul’s premier convention meeting facility. The May 20 event is the culmination of that effort.
The public is invited to the unveiling and anniversary celebration from noon to 1:30 p.m. on May 20 in the Kellogg lobby in the convention center located on Kellogg Boulevard. St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman and representatives from ®he RiverCentre Authority, EnPower and Touchstone Energy® will unveil the facility’s striking new “Touchstone Energy® Place at RiverCentre” logo and signage. Cake and ice cream will be served, with music provided by the Battle Creek Middle School student band.
RiverCentre Authority Chair Dick Zehring, EnPower CEO Mark Laub, who spearheaded negotiations for the cooperatives and Mickey Niller, chair of the Touchstone Energy Executive Council, are encouraging a big turnout for the festivities. “The unveiling represents a major milestone in the trend-setting partnership we established last August. From that day on, this magnificent convention facility will have its own name proudly displayed above the entrances, throughout the building and in all meeting and events promotional material,” they said.
“We invite everyone in the St. Paul community to join us at noon on May 20 to help celebrate the great future of ‘Touchstone Energy® Place at RiverCentre’ and what it will mean for this great city,” they concluded.
