Holly Community Centre could get a new name and Barrie councillors have 640,000 reasons to make the change.
Councillors will consider a motion Monday night to rename the Mapleton Avenue facility ‘Peggy Hill Team Community Centre’ as part of a $640,000, eight-year naming rights agreement.
“I think this is a great deal for the city and a great deal for Peggy Hill,” said Coun. Gary Harvey, who represents this part of Barrie. “If we can obtain similar deals for other recreation centres, this is a win-win for all parties involved.”
City staff sought out interested parties for the naming rights and had talks with 20 local companies.
That $640,000 would be paid in annual installments of $80,000 over the eight years of the agreement, beginning March 1, 2022 and ending Feb. 28, 2030.
The start or end date of the deal would be adjusted if the facility is closed for an extended period of time — three months or more — due to a pandemic or if a large portion of the building was damaged by a tornado or other natural disaster.
As part of the proposed deal, the city would pay costs associated with the naming rights changeover. The first sponsorship payment of $80,000 would go toward covering the costs associated with switching signs to the new name.
Proceeds from the naming rights sale would go into the city’s sponsorship revenue account, thereby contributing to the overall annual operating revenue.
If approved Monday, this matter would go to city council for final apparel at its Jan. 17 meeting.
Peggy Hill has been in Barrie since 1992 and in the real estate business since 2003. She has donated to a number of groups, including the YMCA of Simcoe Muskoka’s ‘100 Reasons Y’ campaign, Barrie Food Bank, Autism Ontario, Gilda’s Club, Hospice Simcoe, and the Children’s Miracle Network.
The city has a 10-year, $1.7-million naming rights agreement with Sadlon Motors for the former Barrie Molson Centre in the city’s south end, called Sadlon Arena.
