What do you call the arena where the Ottawa 67’s play?
For a $1,000, you could call it whatever you want.
The team has put naming rights for the Ottawa Civic Centre up as the grand prize in a contest draw for Ottawa area businesses.
“This is a great opportunity for a company to become
well known around the region and the entire province,” said 67’s owner
Jeff Hunt. “The name of the building is referenced in every media story
and every ad for our games and other events that take place inside it.”
Hunt said that’s worth hundreds of thousands of
dollars in brand awareness, but the winning business will only have to
pay $1,000 to have their name attached to the building.
A draw to pick the winner will be held at the 67’s
opening night on Sept. 25.
Re-branding will commence as soon as
possible after that with the Civic Centre being referred to by the
winning company’s name until July 1, 2010.
According to ESPN Sports Business, North American
facility naming rights are typically worth between $500,000 and $5
million per season, depending on the number of events that take place in
the facility and the size of the media market in which they are
located.
The Ottawa/Gatineau metropolitan area is Canada’s
fourth-largest media market with a population in excess of 1.1 million
and the Civic Centre complex hosts dozens of major events per year.
