Arvest Building KC Brand

Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank is pressing forward in a bid to grow its brand in downtown Kansas City.

The bank, according to a report in the Kansas City Business Journal, paid an undisclosed amount for the naming rights to the 3,000-seat Midland Theatre, a venue built in 1927 and on the National Register of Historic Places.

Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland was officially renamed Sept. 13, according to the report.

Kansas City-based UMB Bank, according to the KCBJ, has exclusive rights to put banking facilities and ATMs inside the downtown Kansas City Power & Light District.

But the theater deal, the KCBJ notes, is another strong move by Arvest to challenge UMB’s lock on the downtown district.

Arvest worked with district developer The Cordish Co. in the Midland deal, and the bank is also working with entertainment promoter AEG Live, a subsidiary of the company that runs Sprint Center.

Arvest also recently broke ground on a new branch office just outside the border of the P&L District.