Tech company scores with naming rights for new Bucks arena

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A little-known hometown company listed on NASDAQ will get a big boost with basketball and music fans, with its name displayed on the Milwaukee Bucks' new $524 million arena.

The Bucks and Fiserv Co. announced Thursday a 25-year naming rights deal for the nearly completed Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center in downtown Milwaukee, which opens next month. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The arena will be named Fiserv Forum and will be the new home of the Bucks and Marquette's men's basketball team. The arena also is set to host more than 200 events annually, including big names such as Justin Timberlake, Pink, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac and the Foo Fighters in its inaugural year.

Fiserv, based in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield, has been listed on NASDAQ for more than 30 years. A member of the Fortune 500, Fiserv provides technology for banks and merchants to move money around.

Until now, Fiserv has not had its name plastered on big-time venues. Fiserv CEO Jeffery Yabuki said the company wanted to "give back to the community" and ihaving the company name on the arena will "elevate our brand to a new level."

Yabuki told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the move also positions Fiserv as a "cool" employer among young workers. The company, valued at about $31 billion on Thursday, employs about 900 people at its corporate headquarters in Brookfield and another 2,000 in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta.

Bucks President Peter Feigin said Fiserv's "exponential success is insane," and that he and the team's other owners are pleased to partner with a large local company boasting an international presence.

A public celebration of the new venue is scheduled for Aug. 26. The Killers will headline a grand opening concert on Sept. 4.

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