Houston Dynamo, BBVA Compass Reach Multi-Year, Naming Rights Agreement for Houston Dynamo's New Stadium

HOUSTON, Dec. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Houston Dynamo and Sunbelt bank BBVA Compass announced they are entering into a multi-year naming rights agreement for the Major League Soccer (MLS) team's new downtown Houston stadium currently under construction. 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111214/DA22763LOGO)

BBVA Compass Stadium is set to open May 12.

"We have always believed that Houston was one of the most important and passionate sports markets in the United States," said Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG.  "From day one, our fans have been phenomenal in their support of the Dynamo which in turn has been MLS' best team the past six years. Now, with today's announcement and the brand new BBVA Compass Stadium, we have a partner that not only shares our vision for the stadium but our franchise's commitment to the community. We are grateful to the City, Mayor Parker, and BBVA Compass who are as dedicated and devoted to the Dynamo, to the market, to our fans and to our community as Mr. Anschutz, Gabriel Brener and Oscar De La Hoya."

BBVA Compass Stadium, which will seat 22,000, is the newest addition to Houston's professional sports landscape. This state-of-the-art facility will be home to the Houston Dynamo soccer team and Texas Southern University football. The open-air stadium will also serve as the host venue for concerts, festivals, boxing, high school sports, soccer "friendlies," sports championships, community and special events and more.

"This is great for Houston," said Manolo Sanchez, BBVA Compass president and CEO. "BBVA Compass Stadium will be a major step in revitalizing our urban core. And it will showcase the most popular sport in the world, one that upholds the values of BBVA Compass: teamwork, effort and fair play. We look forward to a long and enduring relationship with the Dynamo and Major League Soccer."

BBVA Compass Stadium becomes Major League Soccer's 14th soccer-specific venue with a naming rights partner. Other venues are BMO Field (Toronto), Saputo Stadium (Montreal), Dick's Sporting Goods Park (Commerce City, Colo.), Gillette Stadium (Foxboro, Mass.), JELD-WEN Field (Portland, Ore.), LIVESTRONG Sporting Park (Kansas City, Kan.), Pizza Hut Park (Frisco, Texas), PPL Park (Chester, Pa.), CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Wash.), Red Bull Arena (Harrison, N.J.), Rio Tinto Stadium (Sandy, Utah), The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.) and Toyota Park (Bridgeview, Ill.).

The City of Houston has already benefitted from the stadium's development with 1,500 construction and related jobs. Another 300 jobs will be added once the venue opens in spring of 2012. BBVA Compass Stadium will generate $32 million for the local economy while jumpstarting the revitalization of the area east of downtown, where a new light rail line is already under construction.

The new home of the Dynamo will also be a good for the environment, as this facility promises to be the most recycled and sustainable stadium ever built. In fact, steps have already begun for certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system with the United States Green Building Council to become the "greenest" stadium in Houston and one of the only LEED certified sports venues in Texas.

"I would like to thank BBVA Compass for sharing our vision for the future and our commitment to the community," said Dynamo president of business operations Chris Canetti. "Together we will utilize the stadium as a driving force toward making a positive impact on the city. This announcement, along with the stadium opening and the team's success, is another example of the great excitement surrounding the Dynamo organization. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship."

A central component of the Dynamo and BBVA Compass agreement calls for the creation and implementation of a newly developed "Building a Better Houston" campaign. Through this initiative, both organizations have committed to making a difference in the neighborhoods surrounding the new stadium. The campaign will initially focus on four programs carried out one per week in the days leading up to the stadium's opening. These will include programs focused on educating school children, encouraging physical fitness, sustaining the environment, and revitalizing Houston's East End.

ABOUT AEG:
AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world.  The Los Angeles-based organization owns or is affiliated with a global network of more than 100 venues across five continents, such as STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, CA), Best Buy Theater (Times Square, NY),  Sprint Center, (Kansas City), MasterCard Center (Beijing, China), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), Acer Arena (Sydney, Australia), The Globe arena (Stockholm, Sweden), O2 World arena (Berlin, Germany) and The O2 arena and district (London, England) as part of the portfolio of AEG Facilities. AEG developed and operates L.A. LIVE, a 4 million square foot / $2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, & entertainment district featuring Nokia Theatre, L.A. LIVE and Club Nokia, a 54-story, 1001-room convention "headquarters" destination (featuring The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles and JW Marriott L.A. LIVE hotels and 224 luxury condominiums – The Ritz Carlton Residences at L.A. LIVE – all in a single tower) along with entertainment, residential, restaurant and office space. AEG Live, the company's live-entertainment division, is the world's second largest concert promotion and touring company.  It is comprised of touring, festival, exhibition, broadcast, merchandise and special event divisions with fifteen regional offices. In 2010, AEG launched its AEG 1EARTH environmental program with the release of the industry's first sustainability report.

For additional information, visit www.aegworldwide.com.

ABOUT BBVA COMPASS:
BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates more than 712 branches including 374 in Texas, 93 in Alabama, 78 in Arizona, 65 in California, 45 in Florida, 36 in Colorado and 21 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the nation's leading Small Business Administration (SBA) lenders, earning 'Lender of the Year' honors in 2009 and 2010. Additional information concerning BBVA Compass can be found on our website www.bbvacompass.com.

BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of BBVA Compass Bancshares, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a financial services group with approximately $800 billion in total assets, 48 million clients, 7,400 branches and approximately 110,000 employees in more than 30 countries. BBVA ranks among the top 20 largest financial institutions in the world based on market capitalization and 17th in Global Finance magazine's list of the "World's 50 Safest Banks" for 2011. BBVA provides its customers around the world with a full range of financial services, including commercial and wholesale banking, retail banking services, consumer loans, mortgages, credit cards, securities brokerage, wealth management, pension plan management and insurance. The BBVA Group maintains a leadership position in Spain, Mexico, Latin America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States, as well as operations in China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. More information about the BBVA Group can be found at www.bbva.com.

BBVA Compass is a trade name of Compass Bank.

ABOUT THE HOUSTON DYNAMO:
The Houston Dynamo are a Major League Soccer club that has won two MLS Cup championships and three conference championships in its first six seasons and qualified to represent the United States in international competition five times, including in the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League. For more information, log on to www.HoustonDynamo.com or call (713) 276-7500.

-Forever Orange-

SOURCE BBVA Compass

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