Visions starts 5th year as naming sponsor for Binghamton arena

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Visions Federal Credit Union (Visions FCU) has begun its fifth year as naming sponsor of the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton. With support from Visions during the past four years, the credit union says the local venue has “overcome challenges brought by the pandemic and is now bustling with increased attendance and community engagement,” per a recent announcement. “Over the past four years, our partnership with Visions has brought much-needed new events and opportunities to our community following the challenges of the pandemic that halted live entertainment,” Broome County Executive Jason Garnar said. “Their support has given people more ways to come together and enjoy these experiences, and we are grateful for their continued commitment to Broome County.” Visions FCU’s sponsorship in January 2021 started during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the arena to shut its doors for an extended period. Between March 9, 2020, and March 11, 2021, the arena hosted only a handful of events for a total attendance of fewer than 300 patrons. In 2021, crews performed major renovations to the arena’s aging infrastructure and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems as the brand of Visions Federal Credit Union was installed outside and painted throughout the building to replace the prior sponsor. By that summer, Visions had become a principal sponsor of the Binghamton Black Bears to help keep professional hockey in the local community after the previous hockey team relocated to Utica. Within the team’s first two seasons, attendance at hockey games would reach an average of nearly 3,000 per night. The average-attendance figure rose to about 4,100 per home game this past season.

Partnering with Mirabito

When the credit union pursued the sponsorship, Visions FCU had developed a strategic partnership with Mirabito Energy Products to expand the impact. Mirabito became naming sponsor of the box offices for both the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena and Broome County Forum Theatre. “I’m a firm believer that, in most cases, a setback is only the setup for a comeback,” Timothy Strong, Visions FCU’s director of branding and public relations, said. “We expected that our partnerships with Broome County and Mirabito would help this area recover from the pandemic, and we’re proud to have seen that come true.” The two sponsors, Visions FCU and Mirabito, have supported initiatives to bring new events, local artists, and major performing acts into the community. They also provide exclusive access to discounted tickets, pre-sale offers, and special promotions that have encouraged attendance at the venue’s events. Part of Visions FCU’s sponsorship included the creation of a Naming Rights Fund to help cover the cost of programming at the Arena and Forum. In the past few years, the fund helped acts that included Jeff Dunham, Jerry Seinfeld, Walker Hayes, and WWE, Visions said. “From state championship athletics events to the Binghamton Black Bears to several concerts and family shows, we’ve been able to attract shows of all types that would not have otherwise come to Binghamton but for the partnership with Visions,” Christopher Marion, general manager of Visions Veterans Memorial Arena and Forum Theatre, said in the announcement. “We have also been able to access the Naming Rights Fund to help all of our stakeholders and tenants either maintain or enhance their level of activity or service in both venues.”

Community events

In addition to supporting ticketed events at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena, the credit union says it has hosted events with free attendance for the community. The Visions Summer Concert Series evolved over three years into the Bands & Brews Block Party, bringing thousands of attendees to the space for free outdoor concerts that have included local vendors, meet-and-greets with professional athletes, and more than a dozen bands from around New York State. Introduced by the Visions Veterans Program in 2022, Visions FCU has also hosted an annual Veterans Expo, allowing veterans and military-connected community members to network with veteran-service providers from throughout the Southern Tier and Central New York.