Raleigh Convention Center renamed Atlantic Union Bank Convention Center

Raleigh is putting a corporate name on one of its best-known public venues, and the change will land in the middle of a major downtown buildout. The Raleigh Convention Center, at 500 South Salisbury Street, will become the Atlantic Union Bank Convention Center under a naming-rights agreement that City Council approved unanimously on June 16.

The deal runs for an initial 15 years and includes two optional five-year extensions. Atlantic Union Bank will pay the city $525,000 in the first year, with the amount rising 2% annually during the initial term. City officials tied the agreement to City Council resolution 2021-278, and the public hearing was held during the council’s afternoon session at 1 p.m. after notice went out in early June.

For Raleigh, the sale turns a civic landmark into a revenue source at a time when the convention center is already being reshaped. The venue is in the middle of a nearly 300,000-square-foot expansion that city and venue officials say is part of a broader downtown growth strategy. The project is meant to make Raleigh more competitive for larger conventions and events, and it is being carried out alongside the relocation of Red Hat Amphitheater one block south and construction of a 600-room Omni hotel across the street.

The convention center opened in September 2008, which means this is its first name change since it opened. The rename will affect the building’s exterior signage, event branding and the way Raleigh markets the site to planners, visitors and national groups. It also adds a commercial identity to a venue long identified simply with the city itself.

Atlantic Union Bank has said it plans to expand its Triangle presence, with one Raleigh branch already operating and more planned. Christine Michelini Landi, the bank’s marketing chief, told council members the convention center is a strong brand fit because it sits at the center of business, culture and community gatherings.

The move also reflects a larger trend in Raleigh toward monetizing public venues as the city leans on private partners to help fund growth. Corey Branch noted a practical reality that may outlast the formal rename: many residents may keep calling it the Raleigh Convention Center out of habit. But once the new signs go up and convention materials change, the city’s downtown landmark will carry a bank’s name while the expansion around it pushes ahead toward a 2029 completion target.