It seems as though a renaming of BC Place has already been locked in (personally, I hope they name it Dead Spider) and I wanted to go through a brief rundown of some of Vancouver's unendorsed renamings.
 |
| Courtesy of Venture Vancouver via CC-BY-ND 2.0 license. |
The mall was originally named Metrotown, but as Metrotown started to become the name of the surrounding area, the management group decided to rename the mall Metropolis during an expansion to separate itself from the surrounding area. This proved entirely uneventful as everyone understood the difference between Metrotown (mall) and Metrotown (area), but was important to Metropolis as they wanted to separate the difference between buying retail at the mall and buying retai at, say, the nearby Crystal Mall.
 |
| Courtesy of quinet via CC-BY 2.0 license. |
This was a bad, bad idea for Telus, and I speculate it's one of the reasons they didn't pick up the naming rights to (now) Rogers Arena. Science World in 2005 was a relatively run down facility in bad need of repairs and upgrades, and I credit Telus with stepping in and offering 9 million to renovate the facility. However. They failed to recognize the significance of Science World in the minds of Vancouverites as a shining glowing waterfront beacon and a reminder of Vancouver's entrance to the world stage during Expo 1986. Initially, they renamed the facility Telusphere, which was met with derision and hatred by most, and the negative backlash eventually gave way to naming the facility "Science World at Telus World of Science" - a name nobody ever uses.
 |
| Courtesy of Canadian Veggie via CC BY-NC-ND license |
3. Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium / Nat Bailey Stadium
Scotiabank was wise here. Nat Bailey was an incredibly popular and successful Vancouverite, the founder of White Spot, and he used his successes avidly to support little league baseball. His devotion to the sport was so notable that on his death, the former Capilano Stadium was renamed to honour him. Scotiabank carefully seems to target the field itself as an addendum, and seems fully aware that though their name may appear in print, that it will never be used verbally in reference to the stadium.
 |
| Courtesy of The West End via CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license |
4. GM Place / Rogers Arena
When GM Place opened it's doors in 1995, people were largely accepting of GM Place - the stadium was built without the fiscal support of taxpayers and Canucks fans were still glowing with the pride of the 1994 Stanley Cup run. Besides, associating cars with hockey didn't seem too sacrificial; It sure beats affiliating with life insurance or a bank. To GM's concern, the building in the press was often referred to as the Garage. When the lease GM had with then-Orca Bay Entertainment expired, Rogers swept in and bought the rights. The building's outer face was soon renovated with a statue of Roger Nielson and is now referred to as "the Rog" - counterculture Rogers likely had not anticipated. The common name serves in reference to the Garage, Roger Nielson, and Rogers.
In summary, I think there is commercial value to renaming a building - the sponsor's name will appear repeatedly in print and paper. However, there is real risk of offending and alienating your target audience. BC Place served 307, 000 Lions fans during the 2009 season, and like Science World, was built for Expo '86. It's unfortunate that as taxpayers, we've allowed corporations the luxuries of naming rights to our buildings and that we can no longer afford these buildings to commemorate BC and the great people who have served it. I don't think anyone would complain about Terry Fox Place.
No comments:
Post a Comment