What’s in the name is what it’s all about to Doug Lougheed.
The retired Barrie man traces his roots back to the Holly area of the mid-1800s and wants its community centre to acknowledge that history.
“From a philosophical point of view, I’ll say that if I think if you’re going to have a community centre, it should reflect something about the community that it’s in,” said Lougheed, 66.
Upcoming on Monday night, Barrie city council will consider final approval of a motion to rename Holly Community Centre as Peggy Hill Team Community Centre as part of a $640,000, eight-year naming rights agreement. The Heritage Barrie committee would also be consulted on the development of an installation at the Mapleton Avenue community centre to showcase the history of the Holly community.
Lougheed says he likes the historical showcase idea.
“I think it would be great in any of the community centres to have something reflective of the area,” said the former South Simcoe police officer. “It would be great to have some of the stories.”
Coun. Clare Riepma, chairman of Heritage Barrie committee, has said its members would be interested in working on the project.
Lougheed, a former Innisfil town councillor, said Holly could still remain part of the community centre’s name.
“I think there’s a way to do it. I don’t know what those names would be,” he said. “I was thinking about something like Holly Community Centre sponsored by the Peggy Hill Team or something along those lines.
“One of the things, too, is that down the road — this is an eight-year contract — so... if some other corporation decided to jump on board, then what happens? Is the name changed again? Where if it stays the Holly Community Centre, regardless of who it’s sponsored by, everything stays the same.”
Barrie’s downtown performing arts centre, for example, is called Five Points Theatre presented by Pratt Homes and Pratt Development.
Lougheed stressed he has no problem with the Peggy Hill Team and, in fact, commends the local realtor.
“They came to the plate and I don’t blame them in any way,” he said. “I think that some of the heritage issues should have been explored beforehand.”
Council decided in 2015 to look into naming rights deals for Barrie facilities. There’s a list of several city buildings for which staff are looking to find a sponsor.
Proceeds from the naming rights sale for Holly Community Centre would go into Barrie’s sponsorship revenue account, thereby contributing to the city’s overall annual operating revenue.
Lougheed says Holly was once considered to be at the corner of what’s now Mapleview Drive West and Essa Road, where there was a general store, a post office and a church. He loosely defines it now as Mapleview Drive West down to Beacon Road, to Highway 27 on the west and Highway 400 to the east.
City staff sought out interested parties for the Holly Community Centre naming rights and had talks with 20 local companies.
The $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, $80,000, would go toward covering the costs associated with switching signs to the new name.
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 southend, called Sadlon Arena.
Pratt’s naming rights deal with the city for Five Points Theatre, approved in late 2017 by council, was for $300,000 to be paid in the first four years of a 15-year agreement.
