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Washington, Alaska Airlines renew arena naming-rights deal

Husky Stadium field-naming rights, meanwhile, are out to market. And what about jersey patches?

Washington, Alaska Airlines renew arena naming-rights deal

Alaska Airlines and the University of Washington renewed their naming-rights agreement for the arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, the school announced Friday. The new deal will pay the school about $28 million over the next 10 years, per a source.

There is no news yet, however, on naming rights for the field at Husky Stadium, which Alaska purchased in 2015 as part of a 10-year, $41 million deal that also included the arena.

UW athletic director Pat Chun told On Montlake on Friday that the school has taken the Husky Stadium field-naming rights to market.

“(Alaska Airlines) had an exclusive renegotiation period, via their contract,” Chun said. “Once we got through the exclusive negotiation piece, this is where both parties landed — that it would be best for them, and best for us.”

UW hired a group led by Tod Leiweke, part-owner and CEO of the Seattle Kraken, to consult on negotiations. There is no timeline to share for the field-naming rights, Chun said.

“We’ve committed to a process,” he said. “How long this takes is what it takes. Whenever we have a partner finalized, we’ll announce that.”

While Husky Stadium has featured a field sponsor for the last decade, the 2026 football season could mark the beginning of a new sponsorship era. Earlier this year, the NCAA approved the addition of up to two, four-square-inch patches on uniforms, a new potential revenue stream as schools like Washington struggle to balance athletics budgets in the athlete revenue-share era.

“We’re actively in that marketplace, as well,” Chun said.

Could UW add patches as early as this season?