Huntington gets naming rights to Cleveland Convention Center

CLEVELAND (AP) — Huntington Bank has struck a deal to get the naming rights for the Cleveland Convention Center ahead of the Republican National Convention this summer.

The name change is effective immediately, with most rebranding set to happen during the next several weeks. The exterior signage will be installed sometime this summer before the convention in July.

The agreement calls for Columbus-based Huntington to pay Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County more than $400,000 annually for the 20-year naming rights for the convention center.

The rights were previously held by FirstMerit Corporation. FirstMerit had purchased the naming rights last fall by agreeing to pay $10 million over 20 years.

Huntington agreed in January to buy FirstMerit for $3.4 billion, but that purchase has not yet been finalized.