ImOn Naming Rights

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 20, 2020

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Katie Ripke
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319-731-4554

ImOn Communications and City of Cedar Rapids Announce Naming Rights for the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena

ImOn Ice Unveiled at Press Conference Earlier Today

(Cedar Rapids, IA) – ImOn Communications and the City of Cedar Rapids announced a naming rights agreement for the city-owned Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, now named ImOn Ice. The agreement between the City and ImOn Communications is effective January 1, 2020 through 2024. VenuWorks Cedar Rapids will continue management of the venue, under leadership of new general manager, Erik Hudson.

“ImOn is proud to put our name on this important community venue,” said Patrice Carroll, CEO of ImOn. “We are committed to supporting the communities we serve and look forward to a long relationship with the City of Cedar Rapids and ImOn Ice.”

In the coming weeks, guests can expect to see updated signage installed both on the interior and exterior of the building. A new website, ImOnIce.com, is set to launch tomorrow, January 14, 2020. Additional branding updates will be made as needed.

“We are thrilled to partner with ImOn Communications, and appreciate their commitment to this important amenity in Cedar Rapids,” said Jeff Pomeranz, Cedar Rapids City Manager. “We look forward to continuing to operate and enhance the ImOn Ice venue, which offers vital entertainment and recreational opportunities that benefit our entire community.”

In 2019, VenuWorks shared a $1.5 million multi-year venue improvement plan including the build-out of a new concession stand with more food and beverage options, installation of new decks in the endzones and installation of new seats in the NHL rink, a new website, as well as expanded services and communication tools. These improvements are in addition to other recent investments made by the City including two new ice resurfacers, HVAC system upgrades and other operational updates.

Additionally, the venue continues to focus on growing in-house programming, including a rapidly growing Learn to Skate program and expanded public skates. A virtual reality arcade, CRVR, was launched last July and continues steady growth. Other skating-related programs offered include figure skating, youth and adult hockey, skating lessons and birthday parties. The venue is also home to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, a junior hockey team that competes in the United States Hockey League.

ImOn Ice Fact Sheet

Venue History

Originally opened January 2, 2000 – celebrating 20 year anniversary throughout the month of January.
On average, the venue welcomes 200,000+ guests/year through a variety of events and programming including Learn to Skate, public skate sessions, club activities, RoughRider games and more.
Features two sheets of ice – NHL and Olympic.
The venue is owned and supported by the City of Cedar Rapids. VenuWorks of Cedar Rapids has managed the property since 2001.

House Programming

Developed and managed by VenuWorks of Cedar Rapids, ImOn Ice features a variety of in-house programming for the cultural, recreational and educational benefit of the community of Cedar Rapids.

Learn to Skate: A member of Learn to Skate USA, ImOn Ice offers Learn to Skate sessions throughout the year. In 2019, the program held six sessions teaching a variety of skating skills to the grassroots community. In total, the program contributed to the overall attendance to the venue by more than 11,000 people.
Public Skate: ImOn Ice is proud to offer a plethora of Public Skate sessions throughout the year. In 2019, the venue offered 680 Public Skate sessions and welcomed over 24,000 guests to the ice.
ImOn Ice supports many local clubs including the Eastern Iowa Figure Skating Club, Corridor Hockey Association, Cedar Rapids Curling Club, Iowa Speed Skating Association and the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. In total, the venue’s ice was in use for more than 5900 hours in 2019.
CRVR / Cedar Rapids Virtual Reality (CRVR) opened in the lobby of ImOn Ice in July of 2019 and in six months has hosted over 1800 players.

Recent Investment

In 2019, the City shared their $1.5 million multi-year venue improvement plan, including:

Build out of new concession stand which opened late 2019 and expanded the food & beverage options for guests.
Installation of new party decks in the endzones in the NHL rink.
Phased replacement of seats in the NHL rink.
New website (launching January 14, 2020) .
The addition of CRVR (July 2019).

Upcoming Events

In partnership with the Cedar Rapids Tourism Office, ImOn Ice is excited to serve as the host site for the 2020 USA Roller Sports Championship this July. The venue will also serve as the host site for the 2021 National Curling Championship, during an Olympic qualifying year.

Partnership with ImOn Communications

Contracted between the City of Cedar Rapids and ImOn Communications, the agreement is for $500,000 over five years with the option to extend an additional five years for another $575,000. Updated branding for the venue will include three exterior back-lit signs, two large interior signs, a center ice logo and other amenities.

About ImOn Communications

ImOn Communications provides high-speed Internet, data and telephone services to residents in Cedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha, and Iowa City, Iowa. ImOn also provides businesses in Dubuque and the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Corridor with advanced communication solutions to help organizations of all sizes meet their business objectives. ImOn was the first to bring fiber optic technology to the Cedar Rapids area with the introduction of 10Gig business Ethernet services in 2009, followed by the introduction of fiber-to-the-home services in 2011 and residential gigabit service in 2015. Since 2014, ImOn has provided free community Wi-Fi service to the communities they serve including Downtown Cedar Rapids, the McGrath Amphitheatre, Newbo City Market, various parks in Hiawatha, Iowa, the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena as well as the Iowa City Ped Mall and the Dubuque Mystique Ice Arena. ImOn is locally owned and operated and offers customers tremendous value and choice for services. For more information regarding ImOn Communications, visit http://www.ImOn.net or call 319-298-6484.

About VenuWorks

VenuWorks provides customized management solutions for arenas, stadiums, theatres and convention centers throughout the country with services that include operations, catering, concessions, along with the booking and marketing of sports and entertainment events. VenuWorks of Cedar Rapids proudly manages the U.S. Cellular Center, McGrath Amphitheatre, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids Ice Arena and the Cedar Rapids Tourism Office.

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ImOn Communications and City of Cedar Rapids Announce Naming Rights for the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena