At 10:00am on Thursday, July 26, 2007, Tulsa's Expo Square will host a press conference to unveil the new naming rights sponsor for the Exposition Center. This unveiling will be the second of its kind in less than a year; illustrating the great value and branding opportunity for the companies involved. The new name of the facility will be the QuikTrip Center.

The Expo Square Naming Rights Program came to fruition after Dallas-based Convention, Sports & Leisure International and Friends of the Fairgrounds Foundation completed a study assessing the values for Expo Square. These values have, and are still, stimulating the negotiations to bring more naming rights opportunities to the complex.

Aubrey Ringleb, Executive Director of the Friends of the Fairgrounds Foundation, has been instrumental in developing the relationship with QuikTrip. Ringleb said, "the program is an investment in what we have, and what's to come in the future."

The naming rights program secures the financial need for capital improvements and maintenance of the facility. A portion of the program will be invested in the Friends of the Fairgrounds Foundation endowment fund to sustain and assist with future improvements. In addition, the naming rights logo will help identify the Exposition Center, while creating a recognizable brand identity with the Tulsa community.

"The partnership with the Friends of the Fairgrounds is a natural for QuikTrip," said Jim Denny, QuikTrip Vice President of Marketing. "The visitors to the QuikTrip Center are also QuikTrip customers, and this venue will give us the opportunity to interact on a different level."

The QuikTrip Center is 448,400 square feet on two levels, and is the largest clear span building in the state. The Tulsa Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that Expo Square brings in more than $130 million dollars to the Tulsa economy each year.

With the addition of the new naming rights partner, the economic impact of Expo Square will continue to increase.

Rick Bjorklund, Expo Square President/CEO; Jono Helmerich, Chairman of the Friends of the Fairgrounds Foundation; and Commissioner Randi Miller, Chairman of Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority, will be on hand to discuss the impact that the new naming rights partner will have on the future of Expo Square.