After many years as the Tampa Bay Times Forum, the entertainment venue in downtown Tampa has a new name: Amalie Arena.
Amalie Oil Co. is assuming naming rights of the venue, which will now be known as Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay Lightning chairman and owner Jeff Vinik announced Wednesday.
"They have flown under the radar a little bit, but no longer," said Vinik.
Amalie is a family-owned company that blends and packages motor oils and industrial lubricants.
The company has been in the Tampa area for years.
"We're in this community, we want to be part of this community and we think this is the quickest way to accomplish that," said Harry Barkett of Amalie Oil Company.
The financial terms of the naming rights deal are not immediately known.
The venue's naming rights were previously held by the Tampa Bay Times, which bought the rights in 2002 as part of a 12-year deal valued at $30 million. Prior to that, the venue was known as the Ice Palace.
Amalie Arena is not the only major entertainment venue in Tampa to recently undergo a name change. The outdoor arena at the Florida State Fairgrounds was known as the Ford Amphitheater until 2010, when naming rights were bought by the lawyer referral service 1-800-ASK-GARY.
The venue was known as the 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheater until 2013, when Live Nation Amphitheater opted to not renew the deal. After that, MidFlorida Credit Union took over naming rights.