ICCU buys naming rights for Spokane Valley arts center

Idaho Central Credit Union has signed a lifetime naming rights deal for a proposed performing arts center in Spokane Valley.

Under the agreement, the privately funded venue will be called Idaho Central Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center, which is slated to break ground next month on a 5-acre site near the Tru by Hilton hotel.

Organizers publicly announced plans in November to build the $36 million state-of-the-art venue.

The 59,000-square-foot facility will house a main-stage theatre with more than 475 seats, a studio theatre with 200 seats, an acting conservatory for area youth and a third-floor event space.

The site will have more than 300 free parking spaces for patrons.

The nonprofit arts organization had discussions with ICCU officials for naming rights earlier this year while in the process of its five-year capital fundraising campaign, said Marnie Rorholm, managing director of the Idaho Central Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center.

“The biggest opportunity was to name the building and facility itself,” Rorholm said. “Idaho Central Credit Union was the first to really bite. They are very community-minded and we are grateful they had the foresight and vision to snap up this opportunity.”

The lifetime option may have been another driving factor for the deal, Rorholm said.

“This building is really a gift to the community,” she said. “It’s a legacy project and something that is going to be there long after we’re gone.”

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Plans for the facility were sparked by success of the Spokane Valley Summer Theatre, which has set attendance records annually since its founding in 2016, according to the arts organization.

The theater will host year-round events, including eight main-stage shows, more than four studio productions and three summer shows at the venue, according to the arts organization’s website.

“Partnering with the performing arts center just made sense,” Michael Watson, chief marketing officer for ICCU, said in an email. “Idaho Central Credit Union loves to be part of our local communities and we love the arts.”

Idaho Central Credit Union members will be able to participate in ticket pre-sales and seat selection before they go on sale to the general public, Watson said.

The credit union has been steadily expanding in the Spokane area.

It opened its first branch in the region earlier this year at 41 W. Riverside Ave., which also marks its first location in Washington. The credit union is planning new branches in north Spokane, Liberty Lake and Spokane Valley.

Idaho Central Credit Union, founded in 1940, is headquartered in Chubbuck, Idaho, holds more than $8 billion in assets and has more than 480,000 members in Idaho and Washington, according to the credit union’s website, in the Pocatello metro area.

The performing arts venue’s logo will be changing on social media and other marketing materials prior to an August 13 groundbreaking ceremony, Rorholm said.

Construction of the venue is slated to be complete in spring 2024 with the first professional main stage production scheduled to open later that summer.

Naming rights are still available for the venue’s main stage, studio theatre, main lobby, event space, surrounding grounds and more, Rorholm said.

“There are plenty of naming opportunities left,” she said. “ This building will basically be the opera house of Spokane Valley.”