John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers gets name change
by December 8, 2020 9:47 am 5,141 views
This rendering shows what new signage will look like at the former John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers.
Northwest Arkansas’ largest meeting and event center has a new name.
Rogers Convention Center is the new name of the former John Q. Hammons Center on South Pinnacle Hills Parkway in Rogers. The agreement gives the naming rights to the city for $100,000 per year for 10 years. City officials signed the contract on March 12 this year.
Shanda Hunter, the city’s public relations manager, said new signage at the venue should be installed in December. Best Sign Group of Rogers is the contractor.
“As we continue to be a team player in the branding and promotion of Northwest Arkansas, it’s important for us to make sure residents and visitors alike know what Rogers has to offer,” Mayor Greg Hines said in a statement. “For the first time in our history, more people that call Northwest Arkansas home moved here from somewhere else in the world and don’t know where city limits end and begin. We are so proud of all the great amenities Northwest Arkansas has to offer residents and visitors, and we think it’s important to highlight the things Rogers offers to the region.”
Two years ago, a bankruptcy settlement agreement involving the convention center’s original owner caused the naming rights to become available. Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts LLC (JQH) opened the 125,000-square-foot convention center in 2006. It’s connected to the Embassy Suites Northwest Arkansas. The hotel opened in May 2003, then expanded to 400 rooms in July 2007 with the addition of a 152-room spa tower, built to accommodate the convention center.
A New York investment firm took over the property in May 2018, resulting from a bankruptcy settlement agreement reached earlier that year between the John Q. Hammons estate and JD Holdings, a New York investment firm owned by Jonathan Eilian. A judge approved the settlement agreement in April 2018, stipulating JQH would sell its remaining 35 hotels and other assets.
The JQH hotel company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2016. The hotel company was founded by the late John Q. Hammons, who died in May 2013 at 94.