Rosemont entertainment district will get a new name on Jan. 1

MB Financial Park at Rosemont will get a new moniker Jan. 1 after a different bank cut a deal with the village for naming rights for the village's entertainment district.

The village board Wednesday approved a three-year naming rights agreement with Parkway Bank and Trust Co. for the 200,000-square-foot village-owned venue, which includes a mix of restaurants, bars and entertainment offerings. Parkway will pay Rosemont $600,000 a year, with the option to extend the deal for two additional years. The entertainment district, east of the Tri-State Tollway and north of Balmoral Avenue, will be called Parkway Bank Park.

MB Financial entered a $3 million, 56-month sponsorship contract in May 2012, weeks after the district opened. That deal paid Rosemont about $700,000 annually, and though the agreement with Parkway is for less, Mayor Brad Stephens said Parkway didn't ask for other assets that MB Financial has, including a skybox at Allstate Arena and exposure at other village venues.

Stephens added that village officials directly negotiated the agreement with Parkway. Previously, the village used a middleman agency to negotiate with MB Financial that took a cut of naming rights money as commission.

Formal discussions had started with MB Financial for a three-year extension, but those talks fell through, the mayor said.

Harwood Heights-based Parkway Bank and Trust Co. is a locally owned and operated financial institution that opened in 1964, and now includes 32 branches in Illinois and Arizona. It has about $2.5 billion in assets.

The entertainment district is home to 13 dining and entertainment venues including AMC Theatre, Big Ten Experience, Fogo de Chão, Hofbräuhaus Chicago, IFLY Indoor Skydiving, Joe's Live, Kings Dining & Entertainment, Sugar Factory and Zanies Comedy Club. Harley-Davidson will open a store in summer 2018. The venues surround a lawn that plays host to a variety of seasonal events including concerts, festivals and a winter ice rink.

“Since opening in 2012, Rosemont's entertainment district has established itself as a top dining and entertainment destination for the Chicago area suburbs — attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually,” Stephens said in a news release. “Parkway Bank has been a partner of the Village of Rosemont for more than 40 years and we are thrilled to expand our partnership.”