SunTrust, BB&T have their names on sports

5 Sports venues that carry SunTrust, BB&T names

Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks' merger with Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T will mean a lot of new signage across the two cities.

Because the combined company will bear a new, Truist Financial Corp., the Atlanta Braves' ballpark will likely see its name changed only a few years after it opened.

But Atlanta is not alone. BB&T holds naming rights to more than a half a dozen sporting facilities in Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

BB&T is the title sponsor of the Atlanta Open tennis tournament.

Here are the venues that bear their names:

BB&T Arena 

Formerly known as The Bank of Kentucky Center, the multi-purpose facility in Highland Heights, Ky., was renamed in 2015 after BB&T bought the Bank of Kentucky. The Kentucky bank had contributed $6 million toward the building of the facility in 2006 in exchange for naming rights.

BB&T Ballpark (Charlotte, N.C.) 

BB&T invested $30 million in a sponsorship of the 10,000-seat home of the Charlotte Knights baseball team that included naming rights for 18 years once the facility opened in 2014 in Charlotte's Uptown area. The Knights are a Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

BB&T Ballpark (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 

The home of the Winston-Salem Dash minor league baseball team was renamed under a 15-year naming rights deal that started in 2010. The Dash are the Class A-Advanced team for the White Sox.

BB&T Ballpark (Williamsport, Pa.) 

BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field is the second-oldest ballpark in minor league baseball. The original name was retained in part when a naming-rights deal worth $150,000 over five years was announced in 2013. A major league game was played at BB&T Ballpark for the first time in 2017.

BB&T Center 

The indoor arena located in Sunrise, Fla., is the home venue for the NHL's Florida Panthers. Formerly known as the BankAtlantic Center, it changed names after BB&T purchased BankAtlantic in July 2012. BB&T entered a new, 10-year deal in 2012.

BB&T Field 

Wake Forest University’s football stadium took the BB&T name under a 10-year arrangement that began in 2007, following a $40 million renovation. The stadium still bears the company’s name.

BB&T Point 

The future home of the Independent Atlantic League High Point Rockers will carry the North Carolina bank’s name when it opens in 2019. The naming rights deal for the High Point, N.C., field is for $7.5 million, or $500,000 a year over 15 years.

BB&T Stadium 

BB&T bought the rights to rename North Carolina A&T State University’s 37-year-old football stadium in Greensboro, N.C., in 2018 for $1.5 million. The move amounts to $100,000 a year for 15 years.

SunTrust Park 

The 2015 deal with the Braves marked the first time SunTrust had bought naming rights to a stadium. The 25-year deal has been estimated to be worth in excess of $10 million per year and not only includes its name on the building, but an exclusive presence throughout the Braves' Battery Atlanta complex surrounding the stadium.