3-year partnership from December to combine strengths in entertainment market

Naver membership, payment services to power global events at the venue

A rendering of the planned Naver Arena [Naver]
A rendering of the planned Naver Arena [Naver]

Inspire Arena on Yeongjongdo in Incheon will be renamed Naver Arena starting in December. Naver plans to use the naming rights deal and partnership as a springboard to bring its payment and AI technologies into the venue, expanding its footprint in the offline entertainment market.

Naver announced Monday that it had signed a naming rights agreement and strategic partnership with Inspire Resort. Under the deal, the arena's official name will become "Naver Arena at Inspire," shortened to "Naver Arena."

Beyond the naming rights, the two companies plan to collaborate across several areas: hosting performances at Naver Arena and Discovery Park; enabling on-site entry through Npay FaceSign facial-recognition authentication and NFT (non-fungible token)-based ticketing via Npay Wallet; and deploying augmented reality navigation powered by Naver Labs' digital twin technology.

The partnership is designed to combine Naver's online and offline technology with Inspire's arena operations expertise to create a differentiated concert experience. Naver will handle branding through offline service experiences and benefits for membership users, while Inspire will focus on attracting global entertainment content — including concerts and sporting events — and managing arena operations.

The naming rights take effect in December and will run for three years, after which all internal and external communications related to the arena will carry the new official name. The first event under the Naver Arena banner will be "Naver X Hyundai Card THE SIX," a tournament featuring six of the world's top women's tennis players, running from Dec. 25 to Dec. 27. The financial terms of the naming rights deal were not disclosed.

Lee Jae-hoo, head of Naver's entertainment service division, said the company would use the arena as a landmark to showcase Team Naver's branding, technology and services through its partnership with Inspire. "We will continue to target users with global events that leverage benefits for Naver Plus membership users and technologies such as Npay FaceSign," he added.

Lee Han-na, chief marketing officer of Inspire, said the partnership was meaningful because it sought to create a new entertainment experience by combining the arena's operational capabilities with the technology and service strengths of a domestic platform company. "Through our collaboration with Naver, we will enhance the overall customer experience of attending performances and build a value unique to Naver Arena," she said.


chami@heraldcorp.com