Naming rights are up for grabs at Brampton, Ontario’s Powerade Centre. The building is home to the ECHL’s Brampton Beast, along with several other events year-round. (Courtesy photo)
The worldwide economic woes that have continued since the 2008 recession spread across the globe. No segment of business enterprise has been immune to the loss of financial stability and the rise in the tide over the last 18 to 24 months in some economies has not lifted all boats.
Professional sports have suffered greatly, particularly at the minor league level, where corporate sponsorships have been thin over the last six years. Where this is particularly acute is in the area of naming rights for facilities.
One example of this issue is the naming of the University of New Mexico’s (UNM) basketball arena, known as The Pit.
In 2014, the university announced it was seeking a corporate partner to support the arena through a naming right campaign.
The result after a long and arduous process was a 10-year agreement between UNM and WisePies Pizza chain, a local restaurant chain in Albuquerque. The deal was worth a reported $5 million over the 10 years of the agreement.
These deals can go sour if the fan base is displeased. In UNM’s case, no one seems excited about calling the arena WisePies Arena. In fact, one denigrating term used has been, The Pie Hole; unfortunate, as no other corporate entity stepped up to support the local university.
Sport Business Journal reported in 2015 that US Bank had secured the naming rights for the Minnesota Vikings football stadium for an estimated $220 million over 25 years.
Last week in Las Vegas, cellular phone carrier, T-Mobile, signed a deal to gain the naming rights of the new arena on the Vegas strip.
Sports Business Journal reported at the Consumer Electronics Show last week that while the details were not released, reports are that the T-Mobile will pay under $6 million annually for around 15 years.
T-Mobile Arena will open in April.
Each of these three deals has a singular asset; name recognition before anyone drops a dime on the deal. The UNM basketball arena has been well-known since the NCAA Final Four of 1983 when the North Carolina State University Wolf Pack won the championship.
The Vikings playing in Minnesota is enough to draw interest from US Bank, and the Vegas Strip? Not much else needs to be said there.
Brampton Beast center Luke Pither battles for the puck on Nov. 7, 2015 at Powerade Centre / Photo by John Warren (PHN)
But what of the lower professional ranks, especially Double-A hockey in North America? What are they selling as assets? What is the draw for the money?
A case in point is Brampton, Ontario where the Beast of the ECHL plays their home schedule.
The arena and ice facility used by the Beast is currently named the Powerade Centre, but that name and the agreement that keeps the name on the building is set to expire and the facility’s owners are seeking a new partner.
The multi-sport and entertainment center announced recently it is moving into the request for proposal (RFP) stage of the new naming rights effort.
What are the assets of an arena and facility when the Vegas Strip is not available and Vikings are not he tenants?
The Brampton arena then sells location and demographics.
The Powerade Centre is located on Kennedy Road and sits at the intersection of highways 410 and 407. The facility is bordered by Mississauga and Brampton.
Brampton Beast forward Scott Howes shuffles the puck across the Powerade Centre ice / Photo by John Warren (PHN)
By placing its name on the facility, the successful company will place its brand in front of nearly 100 million people who drive by the facility each year and the approximately 1.2 million annual visitors to the facility.
Approximately 2.1 million people live within a 20-minute drive of the Powerade Centre and it is the closest facility of its kind to Canada’s busiest airport, with Pearson International Airport being a 15-minute drive from the facility.
The facility owners are also pushing their local population as a means to entice national and international corporations looking to get their brand name in front of a diverse target audience.
According to the 2011 Peel Census the region consists of over 16 different religions and 56.8% of the population belongs to a visible minority, with 27.7% of the total being of South Asian descent.
The Powerade Centre hosts over 100 sporting, arts, and recreational events each year, which includes a wide range of events that mirror the diversity of the region. The facility is also home to the ECHL’s Brampton Beast, a Professional Hockey Club, who is an affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens (NHL). Among some of the other major events that take place at the facility include: the International Silver Stick youth hockey tournament, various NHL Alumni Charity games, Shrine Circus, Canada World Kabaddi Cup and cricket tournaments.
The facility owners are seeking naming rights arrangements for a minimum term of 10 years and less than 18 years.
Corporate naming rights in the Toronto area have been secured by the likes of Air Canada, Aviva, Hersey, MasterCard, Ricoh, Rogers and Sony.
“An opportunity like this is very rare. With the majority of facilities in Toronto under long term naming rights arrangements, to have the option to not only be able to get 1 billion views over a ten year period based on the traffic, plus the ability to creatively use the arena, facility and land to the specific needs of the partner, we believe that the correct company could have a tremendous Return on Investment through this option,” Cosmos Sports President Cary Kaplan said.
It will be intriguing to watch this process, as a smaller facility (5,000 seat capacity for hockey) with a loaded annual schedule and a professional sports franchise look to support their activities with the naming rights venture.
For more information and to view the RFP and Supporting Corporate Deck, visit: www.cosmossports.com/naming-rights
Contact the writer: lou.lafrado@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer: John.Warren@prohockeynews.com
Follow us on Twitter: @ProHockeyNews
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