Family gets naming rights to center stage

Durham, N.C. — The Durham City Council unanimously approved an offer from the Teer family to buy the naming rights to the stage at the new Durham Performing Arts Center.

The Council voted on Monday night to approve the offer, which the family of Durham contractor Dillard Teer made in February.

The family has pledged to donate $1.2 million over 10 years for the stage to be named the Mildred & Dillard Teer Stage.

Dillard Teer was vice president and secretary-treasurer for the Nello Teer Co., one of the largest contractors in North Carolina. He also was a Durham County Commissioner and served for 31 years on the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. Mildred Roycroft Teer was a civic leader and member of the Durham City School Board.

When his family made the offer in February, Son Rob Teer said the naming rights opportunity presented a way to honor their father’s legacy in Durham.

“We could think of no better way to reflect their constant giving to the community than to make a gift in their honor to the beautiful new performing arts center in the heart of Durham," he said in a statement.

The multi-use performance space, which seats up to 2,800 people, will be the largest performing arts center in both North Carolina and South Carolina when it opens Nov. 30, with a performance by legendary blues singer B.B. King.