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Updated: 5 hours ago

Hammond Lumber name approved for Augusta Civic Center auditorium under rights deal

The exterior of a blocky building has snow on the ground. File photo The Augusta City Council last week unanimously approved Hammond Lumber Co.’s bid for sub-naming rights at the Augusta Civic Center auditorium.
By Laurie Schreiber

A week after the Augusta Civic Center received a proposal from Belgrade-based Hammond Lumber Co. for naming rights on the center’s auditorium, the Augusta City Council last week unanimously approved the deal.

At its Feb. 6 meeting, the council authorized City Manager Jared Mills to enter into an agreement with Hammond Lumber that would bestow the company’s name on the civic center’s main auditorium for a 10-year term and a value of $82,800 per year, or $828,000 overall.

The auditorium is already named for Paul G. Poulin, a former city manager. But the Poulin family has agreed to work with the center to rededicate the center’s main entrance for Poulin, including a graphic to be created in the lobby that would showcase the history of the center and feature not only Poulin, but the other members of the center’s building committee.

Mayor Mark O’Brien noted the name changes affect only the main auditorium and the entrance. The facility itself will still be called the Augusta Civic Center.

City Council member Michael Michaud, who represents Ward 3, noted that Hammond is “a local business that  has grown to a statewide lumber business. Their reputation precedes itself.”

The $82,800 per year folds in Hammond’s existing ad revenue at the center. The auditorium’s actual naming rights would be about $50,000 per year.

Margaret Noel, the center’s director, previously told the council that the deal is part of the center’s goal to investigate additional revenue opportunities to assist in short- and long-term financial goals, with a focus is non-event revenues in the form of local partnerships through advertising, partnerships and sponsorships.

“Margaret has been working tirelessly to make sure that the civic center is a viable enterprise for us for the future,” said Stephanie Sienkiewicz, a councilor at-large. “Things like this are how we’re going to keep that building afloat.”

The center is still suffering from the effects of the pandemic shutdown., which ground to a halt revenues from events such as corporate conventions, trade shows, rock shows and graduations.

In the short term, the additional revenue would assist the center “getting back to square one from the pandemic and in long run will help keep our budget balanced and to stay competitive in the marketplace,” Noel has said.

The center opened in January 1973. In addition to the auditorium, the 49,000-square-foot facility includes two ballrooms, 23 flexible capacity rooms and in-house catering services. Events include trade shows, sport tournaments, circuses and shows by national acts.

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