Home arena of Phoenix Suns’ developmental team gets new name

PHOENIX – The second-largest arena in northern Arizona and home of the Phoenix Suns’ developmental team is getting a new name.

The Prescott Valley Event Center will be rechristened as the Findlay Toyota Center during a ceremony Saturday afternoon.

The festivities, which are scheduled to run from noon to 3 p.m., will include a 1 p.m. ribbon cutting, live music and a variety of activities for kids, including a jump house, rock wall, face painting and balloon artist.

Northern Arizona Suns players and mascot Buckets also will be on hand.

The NAZ Suns of the NBA G League are the primary tenant of the multi-purpose venue, which is about 85 miles north of Phoenix and seats around 6,000.

The Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, which has 10,000 permanent seats, is the only larger arena in the state north of the Phoenix area.

The Prescott Valley venue has hosted a variety of concerts and events such as rodeo, bull riding, monster trucks and high school sports tournaments since it opened in 2006.

President Donald Trump held a campaign rally there in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

The new naming sponsor, Findlay Toyota, has a dealership in nearby Prescott as well as locations in Flagstaff and Henderson, Nevada.

“We believe this partnership with the center and NAZ Suns reinforces our commitment to the greater Prescott area and helps support the quality of life through entertainment and community events,” Jamaal McCoy, market area manager for the Findlay Automotive Group, said in a press release.

Terms of the multiyear naming agreement were not released.

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