Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre's 2005 Season to be Presented by Fifth Third Bank

Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre's 2005 Season to be Presented by Fifth Third Bank

Presenting Sponsorship First of Its Kind for Venue and for Fifth Third

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Palace Sports and Entertainment (PS&E) and Hillside Productions (Hillside) have announced Fifth Third Bank will be the presenting sponsor for the 2005 season at Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre. The multi-year agreement is the first of its kind for the venue and it marks Fifth Third Bank's most extensive involvement in marketing via live events. It is the most wide-ranging arrangement since Jerome-Duncan Ford took over the venue's naming rights of the approximately 7,000 seat outdoor venue on the grounds of Freedom Hill County Park in Sterling Heights, MI in 2004.

The agreement involves a number of marketing elements, including Fifth Third drops/logos on all advertising and collateral. In addition, they will receive further on-site exposure with the naming of the venue's second stage as Fifth Third Second Stage.

The Fifth Third Second Stage is located near the main entrance and it will be used to host up-and-coming local acts and provide karaoke opportunities for guests to enjoy before events.

Fifth Third Bank will assist in marketing events at Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre through its 83 metro-Detroit outlets, and will offer special promotions throughout the season to its customers and 1,200 employees. Fifth Third will also tag the venue and its events in its radio and print advertisements.

"We are pleased to have an institution such as Fifth Third Bank as a presenter for the Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre who, along with Jerome-Duncan Ford, will afford two great corporate partners to promote this developing venue," said Tom Wilson, President and CEO of PS&E. "Fifth Third Bank will provide the venue with tremendous exposure with promotions and advertising to its many customers and at its numerous outlets, while Fifth Third will benefit with having its name prominently exposed at Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre and through its event advertising."

"Our philosophy with sponsorships is to choose programs that are multi- dimensional. This partnership includes media, venue merchandising, and cooperative promotion which allows Fifth Third to create a more personal touch with guests that attend performances at Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre," said Jack Riley, Vice President and Marketing Director at Fifth Third Bank. "Our employees will be involved on site to reach out to our customers as well. It is not enough for us to simply put our logo on a sign or an ad in the program book."

"We believe in power marketing which means you maximize the relationship with your partner to extend your relationship with your customers, community, and co-workers," continued Riley.

Since 2000, the Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre has seen more than $20 million in venue enhancements. Additionally, a new roof for the pavilion and a sound absorbing containment wall is being added this year. Its season will open in mid-June.

PS&E and Hillside plan to increase the variety of entertainment at Jerome- Duncan Ford Theatre, which will provide the entire metro-Detroit area with an improved summer entertainment mix. Working together with PS&E, which is already the ninth largest promoter in the world, Hillside and PS&E are targeting 30-40 shows for the amphitheatre's schedule in 2005.

PS&E ownership includes The Palace and DTE Energy Music Theatre. The organization also manages Meadow Brook Music Festival on the campus of Oakland University. Combined, PS&E's Michigan venues average 300 events and 3.5 million guests annually.

The Palace has been voted Arena of the Year eight times by Performance magazine and twice by Pollstar magazine and is listed annually among North America's top-grossing arenas. Voted "Best Outdoor Concert Venue" in Pollstar's 2000 Readers' Poll, DTE Energy Music Theatre has been listed as the nation's most attended amphitheater by Amusement Business/Billboard each of the 14 years of PS&E ownership.

PS&E also owns the leasehold rights to the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, a 1999 and 2004 recipient of the Prime Site Award by Facilities & Event Management magazine and one of North America's top-grossing arenas annually.

Freedom Hill County Park hosts all types of public and private events all year round on its 100 acres of parkland. Summer seasons usually include a variety of ethnic festivals, car and motorcycle shows, church festivals, Fourth of July fireworks, concerts, pet shows, dances and Wednesday Outdoor Markets. Organizations, businesses and families can rent the grounds for private or public events. Call 586/979-7010 or visit online http://www.freedomhillcountypark.com/ for more details.

Fifth Third Bank, Eastern Michigan, is based in Southfield, Michigan and led by President Patrick J. Fehring, Jr. Fifth Third Bank is metropolitan Detroit's sixth largest bank and has $6.2 billion in assets, $3.4 billion in deposits, $1.8 billion in custody assets and actively manages $600 million for its personal, corporate, and not-for-profit clients.

Fifth Third Bank serves customers in eight southeastern Michigan counties: Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair, Shiawassee, Livingston, Genesee and Washtenaw. Fifth Third Bank currently operates 83 banking centers, including 11 Bank Mart(R) locations in select Farmer Jack stores that are open seven days a week, and also operates more than 100 ATMs throughout eastern Michigan.

The Fifth Third name has stood for high performance and great service for almost 100 years. Fifth Third's roots go back to 1858, when the Bank of the Ohio Valley was formed in Cincinnati. That bank became the Third National Bank in 1871 and merged with the Fifth National Bank in 1908 creating the Fifth Third name.

Source: Palace Sports and Entertainment

CONTACT: Jeff Corey of Palace Sports and Entertainment, +1-248-377-8204, jcorey@palacenet.com ; or Jack Riley of Fifth Third Bank, +1-248-603-0304, jack.riley@53.com

Web site: http://www.palacenet.com/ http://www.freedomhillcountypark.com/

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