Airline commits $6.3 million to UAA over 10 years, including $1 million scholarship endowment
ANCHORAGE, 2013-03-22 — /travelprnews.com/ — University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Chancellor Tom Case announced today that the new on-campus arena, scheduled to open in fall 2014, will be named the Alaska Airlines Center in recognition of a newly forged 10-year agreement with the airline. The agreement, which begins July 1, 2013, includes $1 million to create a new scholarship endowment for UAA Seawolf student-athletes, plus an enhanced athletics sponsorship contract valued at $5.3 million. A large portion of this agreement will provide travel sponsorship for athletic teams, the largest single expense for UAA’s athletic program.
Alaska Airlines is a longtime partner of the University of Alaska and has been a generous sponsor and supporter of UAA Athletics for more than 30 years. This new agreement ensures a continued partnership between UAA and Alaska Airlines for the next decade, with an option to renew for another five years.
“We are proud to honor Alaska Airlines’ historical and future financial commitment to UAA by naming our newest facility the Alaska Airlines Center,” Case said. “Once open, the Alaska Airlines Center will provide tremendous opportunities for our students and will be a significant community asset, both locally and statewide. This university-industry partnership with Alaska Airlines will help ensure our students’ academic and athletic success.”
When fully funded, the Alaska Airlines Scholar Athletes Endowed Scholarship will provide approximately $40,000 in scholarship support annually.
“We’ve been flying young athletes to their away games for decades and understand how much high school and college sports are part of the fabric of the state’s communities,” said Marilyn Romano, Alaska Airlines’ regional vice president of the state of Alaska. “We’re very proud to continue supporting young adults with this new scholarship endowment and the community at large by having our name associated with a beautiful new arena that will host sports as well as other community events.”
UAA received $15 million from the Alaska Legislature in 2009 to begin planning for the new arena. In 2010, Alaska voters approved a bond measure that provided $60 million for the arena and the Legislature provided the balance to complete the project. The 5,600-seat arena is expected to open in August 2014 and will host UAA athletic competitions, high school and college graduations, concerts, youth camps and other community events.
Editor’s note: A high-resolution artistic rendering of the new arena is available for download in the Alaska Airlines Newsroom image gallery at www.alaskaair.com/newsroom.
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), together with its partner regional airlines, serves 95 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines has ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Network Carriers” in the J.D. Power and Associates North America Airline Satisfaction StudySM for five consecutive years from 2008 to 2012. For reservations, visit www.alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom at www.alaskaair.com/newsroom.
About the University of Alaska Anchorage
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the state’s largest post-secondary institution, with nearly 20,000 students studying at five campuses across South-central Alaska. The University offers many career pathway programs featuring associate’s, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees as well as vocational and professional certificates in more than 150 major study areas. For additional information visit www.uaa.alaska.edu.