Naming rights not for sale, says Paradise council

By Mark Squibb

Paradise council last week rejected a proposal by Capital Auto Group for the naming rights to the Paradise Double Ice Complex.
Councillor Patrick Martin said the business had requested a number of benefits along with the sponsorship rights, including a new logo for the complex, new LED exterior signs, rink board signage, banners, a selfie zone, and exclusive advertising rights.
Council however, had no appetite for the corporate sponsorship deal.
“While I do appreciate them reaching out with an offer like this, I wouldn’t be able to support a private business naming Town infrastructure, nor do I believe that it would be to any great financial benefit to our town,” said Deputy Mayor Kimberley Street. “I would be more interested in having a naming contest of some sort.”
Councillor Glen Carew said while members of council, in general, liked the idea of sponsorship, they were not fond of the idea of a “full-on corporate branding” of the facility.
“But, again, there are other opportunities there, should that company be interested in other options,” said Carew. “To Deputy Mayor Street’s point, that discussion morphed into (a discussion) of the name of the Double Ice Complex, which we were told is just a placeholder name for the facility. We talked about whether there was a way to name our facility and maybe give it a fun name and get local schools involved and get the kids to give it a more appropriate name.”
Carew added that Capital Auto had put together “a great proposal,” and thanked them for their interest.
Council voted unanimously to reject the proposal.
The amount that Capital Auto was willing to fork over for the rights was not shared during the meeting.