CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — American Bank has decided to end its claim on the American Bank Center's naming rights, Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni told 3NEWS early Tuesday afternoon.
The local bank has held the facilities' naming rights since 2004 and renewed its contract with the city in 2014.
The current contract expires Sept. 30.
The city of Corpus Christi stated in a news release Tuesday that the bank is looking to move on from this sponsorship and onto other possible ventures.
"This partnership served the City and our bank very well for many years and we've maintained a great relationship with the City," said American Bank's South Texas Market President Mark Meyer. It's now time for American Bank to pursue new and different ways to support the Corpus Christi community and our clients."
High-profile personal-injury attorney Thomas J. Henry very publicly announced his intention to take over the contract for the facility's naming rights Wednesday, offering $12.5 million.
"Anybody wants to join in and get into a bidding war over the American Bank Center, let’s do it, ‘cause it'll help the citizens of Corpus Christi," he said during that visit.
He said the arena's management company OVG 360 originally reached out to him to gauge his interest.
The news release issued by the city states that it will ne proceed with finding a new sponsor.
"Although the center's name will be changed, the City's objective of having a reputable naming entity remains the same," Zanoni states in the release.
This is a developing story. 3NEWS will provide updates as they become available.