Officials announced a new name — BMO Center — during a news conference Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, at the downtown sports and entertainment venue. (Photo provided by BMO Center)
From news release
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Downtown’s biggest sports and entertainment venue has a new name and a new deal with its biggest sports franchise.

The former BMO Harris Bank Center is now known as simply the BMO Center, officials announced Thursday. And the center has a new nine-year agreement with the Rockford IceHogs to extend the organizations’ partnership.

“This partnership with the IceHogs started in 2011, and we’re happy to see it continue for another nine years,” Kathy Weber, a private wealth advisor with BMO, said in a news release. “We’re pleased to work with these great organizations and leaders to help make progress in the Rockford community.

“Our sponsorship of the BMO Center goes further than brand exposure. It creates a connection in the Rockford community. You are our neighbors, our friends, and our coworkers.”

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BMO bought the naming rights to the downtown venue in 2011, renaming what was then the MetroCentre. The company said it has invested more into the downtown arena than any other privately-operated partner in the center’s 41-year history.

The enhancements include the BMO Suite Level, premium seating in club boxes, a club lounge, a renovated IceHogs team store, renovated restrooms, Wi-Fi, updated arena and concourse lighting and an all-new center scoreboard and ribbon board that merges traditional high-definition display with other modern elements.

“These renovations are really going to be instrumental for us as we move forward with modern technology to entertain fans,” Ryan Snider, president of IceHogs business operations, said in a news release. “Some of the amenities you see coming into place between the enhanced video board, some of the LED screens, and free public Wi-Fi that really are a staple for entertaining in a venue like this. We’re really excited to launch them finally; it’s been two years in the works to get to this point but super excited to debut them on Saturday.”

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The upgrades will give fans around the BMO Center a better experience and greater visibility of IceHogs action, officials said. The new upper and lower ring displays provide additional video to fans closest to the ice, and the increased panel size and image clarity will enhance the view.

“We’ve got a lot of new interest in promoters who have never been here before as well, so these renovations are establishing long-term partnerships, the Chicago Blackhawks are here long-term as well, so these renovations mean a lot to us,” said Gretchen Gilmore, the center’s general manager.

The partnership will also highlight BMO’s EMpower Initiative with the IceHogs, which highlights minority-owned small businesses in the Rockford area throughout the season as the BMO Business of the Month.

“It didn’t seem that long ago that we all gathered, and we had Gov. (JB) Pritzker here and made a big announcement of more than $20 million will be reinvested into this phenomenal facility,” Mayor Tom McNamara said in a news release. “Not just that reinvestment into the facility, but we brought along new partners, and we are fortunate to bring the Blackhawks into our Rockford family. I think as you have the opportunity to hear about all the specific renovations, I think you will see that this is going to be so much better for our fans and also those who are visiting our community to see world famous entertainment.”

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