The alliance will stamp the PPL name on and around the 18,500-seat stadium, being built on the Chester city waterfront to host the Union, the new Major League Soccer team.
The first game in Chester is scheduled for June 27. Stadium construction remains on schedule despite the recent snows.
For PPL, the agreement helps promote a new idea: electric deregulation. PPL wants to get noticed in Peco Energy Co. territory, because at the end of this year Peco's rate caps will be lifted, allowing 1.6 million customers to pick their own suppliers.
For the Union, the deal offers a strong, stable partner in an era of economic uncertainty, and a reliable income at a time when many firms have been reluctant to invest in stadium naming.
For a moment, PPL Park was nearly called PPL EnergyPlus Park - the name of the subsidiary responsible for buying and selling energy in competitive wholesale and deregulated retail markets. But the more team and company officials said the name out loud, the more they realized that it was a mouthful, and that a shorter, snappier, "PPL Park" flowed more easily off the tongue.
PPL, formerly the Pennsylvania Power & Light Co., is a familiar name in the 29 Pennsylvania counties where it has supplied power for decades. Now its subsidiary, PPL EnergyPlus, is ready to market itself to Peco's industrial and commercial customers.
"There are a lot of companies trying to get this business," said PPL spokesperson George Lewis. "It will definitely be competitive."
The $120 million stadium won't be finished in time for the Union's first home game on April 10. That match has been moved to Lincoln Financial Field, along with the team's second home game, against FC Dallas, on May 15.
The Union will play its first-ever game in Seattle against the Sounders on March 25.
