Sportsplex naming rights up for grabs

The City of Brandon is planning to add private naming rights to the Community Sportsplex.

The naming rights, which typically go to companies, would be for the building itself, the arena, pool, outdoor track and racquetball areas, the city’s manager of recreation said.

“Naming-right agreements are just an opportunity to provide the city with some alternative funding sources that also benefits the quality of life for those who live here,” Heather Reimer said.

“What it really does is let us maintain and upgrade facilities with less of those pressure points of budget.”

Reimer said the city needs to be “mindful” of how it spends taxpayer dollars, and this acts as an alternative funding source.

The city has been selling naming rights for multiple venues, including the newly built Canada Packers Sports Complex and Sunrise Credit Union Clubhouse.

The sponsorship options for the different parts of the 30 Knowlton Dr. building, and the centre itself, are tiered at different levels.

For the overall complex, the city is eyeing a 10-year term for about $50,000 per year, Reimer said in an interview with the Sun.

The other portions of the building would likely have different pricing. Smaller areas of the building could be eligible for a shorter term, depending on the needs of the company or individual interested, she said.

“There’s always going to be some negotiation when we look at sponsorship and naming,” she said. “When we’re looking at (the) overall complex, we of course want to have that longer term, because we want to have some continuity and recognition in the naming of that facility.”

As for the companies that could potentially hold naming rights, Reimer said the city ideally looks for a “well-defined brand” that wants to link itself to the experiences people would have at the facility.

“It can help them develop brand awareness, it puts them kind of at the core of community activities and it can link the attributes of the facility to the brand as well,” she said.

“It helps build those relationships based on customer lifestyle interests.”

She said it’s always ideal to work with a local business, but the competition process is open.

“We’re looking for people whose values and ideals and business activities align with us.”

While the city reopened the Sportsplex’s arena in October, renovations are still underway in the facility’s canteen. The canteen is expected to be fully open this spring, the city said in an unrelated press release on Tuesday.

The city will start looking for the sponsorships once the canteen is “operating at full capacity,” Reimer said.

» alambert@brandonsun.com