US Cellular Center sign installed

Hiawassee Street was closed Friday morning as crews worked to install the much-anticipated US Cellular sign on the building formerly known as the Asheville Civic Center. The renaming of Asheville’s largest public venue was a contentious and hotly-debated topic. 

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10 thoughts on “US Cellular Center sign installed

  1. Jeff

    That’s it?? Just “US Cellular”? No “Center” indicating that it’s not a cell phone store? That’s confusing. And ridiculous.

    • Dionysis

      They mean “much anticipated” by U.S. Cellular, not the majority of citizens.

  2. sharpleycladd

    If they give me $1.35 million, I’ll stop calling it the Civic Center. Our City leaders are the most bonehead marketers on earth.

  3. Curious

    The Cedar Rapids agreement is for ten years. Isn’t the Asheville agreement for five years? Could that account for the difference in Mr. Summers’s Cedarfrickin’ Rapids deal?

    • bsummers

      The $1.35 mil for Asheville is for 8 years:

      http://tinyurl.com/bt7qmax

      $168,750 per year vs. $380,000 per for Cedar Rapids. Less than half.

      Don’t get me wrong – I wish they hadn’t sold the Civic out from under us for any amount. But the cheap price tag just adds insult to injury.

  4. TaxPayer

    Congrats to city officials for working out this deal with US Cellular to offset the financial drain that was the Civic Center. Maybe there are some other naming opportunities.

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