SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse University and JMA Wireless on Thursday announced a 10-year partnership for naming rights of the university’s iconic indoor stadium.
The agreement means the name Carrier will be replaced for the first time since the venue opened in 1980. It will be called the JMA Wireless Dome. Terms of the deal were not revealed.
Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud and other school officials along with JMA founder and CEO John Mezzalingua announced the news inside the stadium.
“With JMA Wireless as our new naming partner, our campus community, student-athletes and fans alike can expect a world-class event experience, unlike anything they’ve ever seen before at Syracuse University,” Syverud said.
The university also announced that JMA Wireless will install the most advanced connectivity offerings inside the dome.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era for the dome, Syracuse University and JMA,” said Mezzalingua, whose father is a member of the university’s board of trustees. “Our company’s ties to the city and university run deep. I remember when Syracuse redefined college athletics with the dome, a unique venue that ushered in a period of unprecedented success for Syracuse sports. With this partnership, we have an opportunity to lead once again. The JMA Dome has an incredibly bright future ahead, and we are thrilled to be a part of it.”
JMA is headquartered in Syracuse and is a global leader in 5G wireless technology. It was recently selected to provide 5G equipment for SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, which hosted the Super Bowl this year and which the NFL’s Rams and Chargers call home.
The university announced in April that Carrier Global Corp. had agreed to end Carrier’s hold on naming rights to the venue, which is home to the university’s basketball, football and lacrosse teams, effective May 1. The sports business website Sportico was the first to report the name change.
Carrier pulled a coup in 1979, before naming rights became so lucrative, when it inked a $2.75 million deal with the university for naming rights in perpetuity, a financial mistake the school had been trying to rectify.