First Bank Richmond agrees to $1 million deal for Wayne County Fairgrounds naming rights

Commissioner Ken Paust announced during Wednesday night's combined council/commissioners workshop that First Bank Richmond has agreed to provide $1 million across 10 years for naming rights to the currently named Kuhlman Center and Tom Raper Center. The $100,000 annual donations would be put into a non-reverting fund within the county budget, so it only may be spent on fairgrounds construction, repairs, maintenance, promotion and marketing.

“We’re excited to have this opportunity to support the community which we serve,” said Paul Witte, an executive vice president and the chief lending officer for First Bank, before Wednesday's meeting. "We’ve always been a very philanthropic bank. That’s part of our mission to take care of the community we serve whether it’s a nonprofit or, in this case, an iconic venue.” 

Paust said commissioners were investigating fairgrounds naming rights during 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic put the project on the back burner. When COVID cases abated recently, commissioners rekindled their naming rights search.

“I’m thrilled to death," Paust said. "The benefits for the fairgrounds are just going to be unbelievable."