SYRACUSE, N.Y. — As a senior at the school, Syracuse University Director of Athletics John Wildhack remembers watching “with awe and excitement” as crews built the Dome. He has “great memories” as an alumnus and fan attending games there with family and friends. “In my career, I’ve been fortunate to be in hundreds of sporting […]
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — As a senior at the school, Syracuse University Director of Athletics John Wildhack remembers watching “with awe and excitement” as crews built the Dome.
He has “great memories” as an alumnus and fan attending games there with family and friends.
“In my career, I’ve been fortunate to be in hundreds of sporting venues around the world, but there’s nothing … there’s nothing like walking into the Dome for a big game,” Wildhack said. He was among the speakers on May 19 inside the venue as Syracuse University announced a new 10-year naming rights deal with Syracuse–based technology company JMA Wireless (JMA).
It replaces Carrier on the building that is home to Syracuse football, basketball, and lacrosse.
Wildhack went on to say that the announcement — combined with the upcoming renovations to the Dome — sends a “very clear message about the future. Syracuse University is committed to its athletics program.”
“The fact that a company like JMA Wireless, a leader in world-class technology, raised its hand and said I want to be a part of the future of Syracuse athletics ensures the Dome will continue to be one of the iconic venues in American sports,” he added.
The announcement represents the first name change for the famous structure after more than four decades. Moving forward, the stadium is now formally named the JMA Wireless Dome and referred to simply as the JMA Dome, Syracuse University said in its May 19 news release.
The school hosted an official announcement ceremony inside the JMA Dome on May 19 with top Syracuse University officials and local dignitaries on hand for the event. Besides the duration of the agreement, the school didn’t release any other terms of its agreement with
JMA Wireless, including how much the company is paying for the naming rights.
Syverud makes it official
The announcement also confirmed what the sports-business publication Sportico had first revealed in an April 15 report.
Carrier’s “historic” 1979 donation represented the first naming agreement for a major stadium in college sports, and “one of the first in all of sports,” Syracuse said in an April 20 statement.
“This morning, I have the distinct pleasure of introducing, for the very first time, the JMA Wireless Dome,” Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a proclamation that was greeted with applause from those gathered on May 19.
The giant video board overhead then played a short video about Syracuse athletics in the Dome and ended with the logo of JMA Wireless on the screen.
“From the outside, it’s one of the most recognizable buildings in Syracuse and anywhere in sports. But what makes the Dome truly special is everything that happens inside it,” Syverud said. “So much history has been made here: memorable sports moments, iconic performances, and a lot of really wonderful university traditions. The Dome is the home venue for five university athletic teams, something no other college facility like this can claim.”
Syverud went on to say that, for Syracuse students, it’s also the venue where they begin their time as time as students with the opening convocation and conclude their careers with graduation.
Syverud said it’s a “day that’s been in the making for quite some time,” but a school spokesperson later declined to say how long it took for the two sides to arrive at a deal when questioned by a reporter in attendance.
JMA Wireless CEO comments
JMA Wireless built a new 5G wireless-manufacturing facility at 140 Cortland Ave., just south of downtown Syracuse. JMA has been operating at 7645 Henry Clay Blvd. in Clay.
Syracuse University and JMA Wireless — which together employ more than 6,500 people locally — also announced that JMA will support the Dome’s digital-infrastructure transformation by establishing the “most advanced connectivity offerings for fans and other users while at the Dome,” per the Syracuse release.
John Mezzalingua, founder and CEO of JMA Wireless, told the gathering he first came to the site when Archbold Stadium occupied it and later saw the first game in the Dome against Miami (Ohio).
He called the Dome a “bold and innovative” move by Syracuse and noted the original deal with the Carrier Corporation to have its name on the building. In the years that followed, Syracuse sports teams started recruiting better and winning more games, he added.
“As I stand here today, now 42 years later, there are so many parallels to that time. Syracuse can once again lead and change college athletics, but this time, with the help of 5G technology. There’s a revolution that’s brewing in sports and 5G is at the heart of it,” Mezzalingua said. “Technological changes are [rewriting] the rules of every industry, and the university that figures out how to use 5G to redefine its athletic program will be at a different level than everyone else because it’s not just about speed, it’s about being smarter.”
