Arent Fox Advises Q2 Holdings in Naming Rights to Austin FC Stadium

Austin FC’s stadium will be known as “Q2 Stadium” and become the latest soccer-specific stadium in Major League Soccer. The venue is scheduled to be completed in spring 2021. Sports Practice Leader Richard L. Brand led a team from Arent Fox that included Partner Luna M. Samman and Associate Zachary D. Welsh.

Q2 Stadium has been strategically designed to be a multipurpose venue, including other professional and amateur sporting events outside of soccer, concerts, community activities, cultural events, and private functions such as corporate meetings and weddings.

In a joint release, Austin FC and Q2 noted that, “Q2 Stadium holds the distinction of being the first and only major league venue in Austin” and that they intend to use their partnership and Q2 Stadium as a platform to give back to the Austin community.

Named by Law360 as the ‘Practice Group of the Year,’ Arent Fox’s Sports team advises companies and organizations on acquisitions and sales of sports franchises, properties and events, media and technology agreements,  governance issues, intellectual property matters, and naming rights and sponsorship transactions. Earlier this month, Arent Fox announced the addition of former MLS Executive Vice President and General Counsel Bill Ordower.

This transaction is just the latest of numerous major naming rights and sponsorship transactions handled by Arent Fox. Recent highlights include:

• Representing LA Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park in a naming rights and sponsorship transaction with digital personal finance company, SoFi, on the new SoFi Stadium, the new home of the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams.
• Serving as outside counsel to Amazon in a naming rights transaction for the new sports and entertainment facility which has been named by Amazon the “Climate Pledge Arena,” which is expected to be the first net zero carbon certified arena in the world and will be the home of Seattle’s NHL team and WNBA’s Seattle Storm.
• Representing LA Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park in connection with a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud to power SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park’s digital innovation experiences — and for YouTube to become the official video streaming sponsor of the Rams, Chargers, SoFi Stadium, and Hollywood Park.
• Counseling Mercedes-Benz in a naming rights and sponsorship transaction with the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC for Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
• Advising the Miami Dolphins in an 18-year stadium naming rights agreement with Hard Rock International for Hard Rock Stadium.
• Serving as outside counsel to the Seattle Seahawks and First & Goal Inc. in a renewal of the stadium naming rights transaction with CenturyLink, Inc.