Naming rights to Perth Arena sold in deal with RAC
Perth Arena will be known as RAC Arena from September 1.
Treasurer Ben Wyatt said he had fixed a "perverse" situation where taxpayers were paying Perth Arena to not have a naming sponsor.
He said there had been a competitive tender process with national and international companies interested in the venue's naming rights.
It is understood the deal is worth about $10 million over five years.
Last year Mr Wyatt said the state government would request to keep "Perth" in the name, but the new deal, which would see the venue called RAC Arena for at least five years, did not secure this.
“We inherited not only a record level of state debt, but also the perverse situation where WA taxpayers were forking out compensation for Perth Arena to not have a naming sponsor," Mr Wyatt said.
“This decision allows us to continue to fix the finances and focus our spending on essential services.”
RAC Group chief executive Terry Agnew said RAC became a founding partner of the venue in 2013 and more recently became a sponsor of the RAC Local Lounge.
The venue hosted about 80 events annually and up to one million people, he said.
“Through this partnership we aim to continue communicating and engaging with the community about the importance of road safety, and delivering more benefits, experiences and memories for members visiting RAC Arena," Mr Agnew said.
Mr Wyatt said the deal fulfilled an election commitment to sell the naming rights to the State’s two major venues in support of budget repair, with the city's new stadium known as Optus Stadium.
Sport and Recreation Minister Mick Murray sung the praises of the RAC as being "one of WA’s most trusted, iconic organisations which supports hundreds of WA jobs in a range of important industries."