Say goodbye to the BB&T Center’s name

Sunrise arena to be called ‘Truist’ after bank merger, rebrand

Broward County’s biggest concert venue and the home of the Florida Panthers won’t be the BB&T Center for too much longer.

The Sunrise arena across from Sawgrass Mills will be re-named after the merger of BB&T and SunTrust.

The new name? Truist.

The two regional banking corporations announced Wednesday they’ll rebrand under the name Truist Financial. The merger hasn’t been finalized, so there’s no timetable yet for when the BB&T Center will undergo the name change — or what the full name will be. The merger is scheduled to be completed in the third or fourth quarter, meaning it’s probable it will remain the BB&T Center through the next NHL season.

The Atlanta Braves, who play in SunTrust Park, also will be affected by the merger.

This will mark the fifth name for the South Florida venue since opening in 1998. The 19,250 seat arena has gone by National Car Rental Center, Office Depot Center, BankAtlantic Center — and for the past seven years — BB&T Center.

The naming rights deal will carry over after the merger. The Florida Panthers’ current 10-year deal with BB&T runs through the 2021-22 season, according to a source.

After playing their first four seasons at the Miami Arena, the

Panthers have played in Sunrise since 1998. The arena and the Panthers are now owned by a group headed by Vinnie Viola, called Sunrise Sports & Entertainment.

“We’re excited to congratulate out longstanding partner BB&T on the next evolution of their brand,” the Panthers said in a statement. “Truist Financial Corporation is a worldclass partner, and we’ll be proud to have the new name on our home arena.”

The BB&T Center hosts more than 200 events annually, according to its website. In the past two years, Pink, Elton John, Shakira and Panic! at the Disco have all performed at the arena.

KISS, Jonas Brothers and Backstreet Boys are all have concerts scheduled later in 2019. The Panthers are one of three professional teams in South Florida to have naming rights deals for their stadiums, along with the Miami Heat (American-Airlines Arena) and Miami Dolphins (Hard Rock Stadium). The Miami Marlins are still searching for a naming rights partner for Marlins Park.