by Emma Dooling | Philadelphia Business Journal

The Mann center for the Performing Arts has inked a 10-year sponsorship and naming rights deal with Highmark Blue Shield amid the health insurer's continued push into the Philadelphia market.

Under the deal, Pittsburgh-based Highmark becomes the official health insurance sponsor of the Fairmount Park live entertainment venue throughout 2033. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As part of the sponsorship, the Mann's 12-year-old Skyline Stage has been renamed to the Highmark Skyline Stage @ the Mann. The deal is the first naming rights agreement for the stage since its inception in 2012. The Highmark Skyline Stage is an open-air, general admission venue located at the top of the hill on the Mann's campus offering a view of the Philadelphia skyline. It can accommodate between 3,000 and 7,500 concertgoers. 

Highmark is also getting involved with the Mann's educational programming. The insurer is now the presenting sponsor of the venue's Motion & Music Academy, a year-round, after-school and summer arts learning program; the presenting sponsor of the educational performance component of the Mann's annual Party in the Park gala; and the preferred sponsor for its annual golf tournament. Both the gala and the golf tournament raise money for the venue's educational initiatives. 

Mann CEO Catherine M. Cahill called the partnership with Highmark a "meaningful new relationship" for the concert venue. 

"Highmark Blue Shield's long-term investment in what we do here in our campus and in our community speaks volumes about their genuine interest in the people of this region," Cahill said in a statement. 

The partnership comes as Highmark continues its expansion into the Philadelphia region. This year, it entered the area's commercial health insurance market, where it now competes with Philadelphia-headquartered Blue Cross.

Over the last year, Highmark - which is also active in other areas of Pennsylvania and in Delaware - has add several Philadelphia-area health systems to its provider network, including Jefferson Health, Temple Health and Penn Medicine. 

Dan Tropeano, the Southeastern Pennsylvania market president for Highmark, said the organization has a history of supporting arts and culture programming and education in areas where its employees and members live.

"As a health insurance company, we strive to be true health partners with the organizations and people we serve," he said in a statement. "That same commitment to partnership is central to our work with community treasures like the Mann, which enriches the lives of so many with world-class music performances and arts education."

In addition to the Highmark Skyline Stage, the Mann also operates the TD Pavilion, home to the Presser Foundation Stage, which seats 4,500 people under its roof and another 8,500 outside on the Mann's Great Lawn. That venue also offers Downstage @ the Mann, a 300-person, in-the-round seating experience that takes place on the Presser Foundation Stage. 

The Mann hosts more than 400,000 visitors annually for live performances, including orchestras and touring artists. The venue is in the midst of work on its campus master plan set to include various improvements and additions.

(via Philadelphia Business Journal)