Long Island-based hospital system Northwell Health bought the naming rights to Jones Beach Theater, the popular seasonal concert venue that was previously known as Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, officials announced Monday.
The company has signed a multi-year contract with Live Nation, which operates the 65-year-old, 14,000-seat seaside amphitheater at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh. The venue will now be known as Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater.
“This partnership provides us with a unique opportunity to not only showcase the Northwell brand, but also celebrate the intersection of life and health at a destination that draws hundreds of thousands of concertgoers annually,” said Ramon Soto, senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer at Northwell Health, the largest private employer in New York State.
After opening in 1952, the venue has gone through half a dozen name changes. It was originally known as Jones Beach Marine Theater. Then in the ’90s it was renamed Jones Beach Amphitheater—when it was expanded from the original 8,200 seats—and later it was briefly known as just Jones Beach Theater. In 2002 Tommy Hilfiger was the first corporate sponsor to buy the naming rights for a four-year span. Nikon held the name since ’07.
Signage, posters, banners and other graphics will be changed to indicate the new name throughout the venue, which reopens for the season after Memorial Day weekend, officials said. Northwell will also offer health screenings, wellness tips and run other healthy-living promotions during concerts as a part of the deal, the medical giant explained.
“We are thrilled that Northwell Health has chosen the legendary Jones Beach Theater as a platform to heighten their visibility and connect with thousands of concertgoers,” said Andy Peikon, senior vice president of venue sales at Live Nation, which operates the venue for the state parks department.
The venue has already booked much of its 2017 summer concert calendar line-up, including Dave Matthews, Train, Florida Georgia Line, Third Eye Blind, Lady Antebellum, Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper, Foreigner and Cheap Trick, Chicago and the Doobie Brothers and Brad Paisley, Live Nation said.
