When it comes to the naming rights for Barrie’s most well-known arena, the city is moving on from the Molson name and has its sights firmly set on the future.
Last week, an interim sign with just the letters 'BMC' was installed on the now former Barrie Molson Centre.
A staff report is expected to come to city council this fall with a recommendation for a new sponsor for the arena.
“We’re moving on. That’s the way these things work,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. “Molson has been a big part of Barrie over the years, but not as much today as they were in the past.
"It’s an opportunity now for us to have a relationship with somebody who is either local or moving in to Barrie," he added. "I think that’s the natural progression of things.”
Lehman acknowledged that Molson did request the name be stripped off the south-end building, which had been known as the Barrie Molson Centre since it opened in 1995.
This summer, the city and the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts received a cease-and-desist letter from Molson Coors Inc.
Jim Payetta, co-owner of the Barrie Colts, confirmed this week he was sent the letter.
While he said the city is responsible for removal of the exterior signs on the building, Colts management are still responsible for removing the branding elsewhere.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss details, but yes, we have incurred lots of expenses in removing their brand from materials and signage,” Payetta wrote in an email to BarrieToday. “(The city) has their owns costs, such as removing the name outside on the building.”
According to Scott LaMantia, senior communications advisor with the city, the cost to remove the Molson name from the arena was approximately $2,000.
“We were able to reuse some of the existing letters to keep the costs down,” he said, adding that the agreement with Molson Coors did not outline costs for the removal of the name at the end of the contract.
BarrieToday reached out to Molson Coors for an interview this week, however instead of granting the request, representatives instead opted to send a statement.
“Molson appreciates the relationship we have had over the years with the City of Barrie and we wish the residents of Barrie continued enjoyment of this great sport and entertainment centre,” said François Lefebvre, director of corporate affairs for Molson Coors Canada.
Further questions concerning the reasoning behind opting to move on were not answered.
The naming rights for the Barrie Molson Centre were negotiated in 1994 as part of a land swap between the city and Molson Canada. The city received nine acres of land (valued at $112,000 per acre, or approximately $1 million) and in return Molson received the arena naming rights.
City staff met with Molson Coors executives Sept. 28, 2017, to discuss their interest in continuing with the naming rights of the Barrie Molson Centre.
MolsonCoors later followed up with city staff and declined the opportunity to continue with its name on the building.
The Barrie Molson Centre naming rights came before council last in June 2018.
At that time, Paul Sadlon Motors stepped up to take over the moniker to rename the arena as Sadlon Arena, through a 25-year agreement for the building at Bayview and Mapleview drives.
The proposed agreement would have seen Sadlon pay $2 million in instalments of $100,000 over the course of 20 years, with no payments in the final five years of the deal.
At that time, council rejected the offer, citing it as too low.
The matter was sent back to staff to investigate further, with the hope of achieving a sponsorship agreement for the renaming of the arena that would generate a minimum of $200,000 per year for the city.
Since the MolsonCoors naming deal expired in December 2018, the 'BMC' is now technically unnamed and therefore no money is coming in to the city coffers from the naming rights for the building.
“It’s in between names. This is one of our most prominent buildings,” Lehman said. “We’re all interested in seeing a new name.
"Ideally, there wouldn’t be any gap between those, but those things can take longer to arrange sometimes than you might expect," he added.
That report is expected back to council this fall.
The inclusion of 'Molson' in the arena's name is perhaps the last remnant of the brewing giant's former impression on the city, following the closure of its nearby brewery in 2000, the renaming of Molson Park Drive to Mapleview Drive, and redevelopment of the former Molson Park, which is now called Park Place.
— With files from Raymond Bowe
