The town of Fort Frances has a new policy that paves the way for sponsorship names to be added to town facilities.
The Memorial Sports Centre will be the first to be considered.
Chief Administrative Officer Marcel Michaels says the policy mirrors what other communities are doing to generate new revenue.
“We’re going to look at all of the ones that have the best revenue impact, return on investment, and the MSC is one of the big ones,” says Michaels.
Michael adds the term Memorial has become outdated and does not resonate with younger people.
“I believe the word memorial is more of a generic term,” says Michaels.
“It is tied to veterans, but to me, I would encourage Council to maybe not sit on the name memorial because I don’t think it brings enough acknowledgement to veterans to today’s youth.”
The sports centre’s name was selected by council members during the 1999 expansion that brought a second rink to Fort Frances.
It was tied to the former Memorial Arena and pool and fitness centre, creating one large facility.
The former Memorial Arena, which opened in 1952, was named in honour of the region’s war veterans and renamed in 1999 as the 52 Canadians Arena to recognize the Fort Frances Canadians Allan Cup win in 1952.
The new rink became the Ice for Kids Rinks in honour of the committee that spearheaded the campaign for a second ice surface.
Some councillors feel the name should remain in any sponsorship deal.
Councillor Mike Behan says the policy is still a good option to raise revenue without increasing taxation or user fees.
“I have no problem with somebody’s name in front of that. So and so’s Memorial Sports Centre. I don’t have a problem with that,” says Behan.
“But if we’re going to look at maybe change the name, Memorial Sports Centre, I think that I’d be more reticent to do that,” says Behan.
Administration intends to bring forward a report by the end of November that explores how the town might proceed with a sponsorship agreement for the naming rights of the Sports Centre.
