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KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK
Tuesday, May 28, 2013 X Volume 26 No. 42 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
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What’s in a name? For the city, perhaps $350K By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
For years, they have been known by such dramatic names as Field 1 and Field 2. Soon, 10 fields, ice rinks and other sports facilities around Kamloops may be getting new titles. In partnership with the Kamloops Sports Council, the city will start selling naming rights to the Hillside Stadium field and ice rinks in Valleyview, Brocklehurst and downtown, to name a few. Higher-traffic sites, like Hillside, will go for about $75,000 over a three-year term. Sports council
president Henry Pejril said the goal is to raise about $350,000 a year through the program. The new Tournament Capital Club Partnership Program is similar to the city’s existing deal with Interior Savings Credit Union, which pays for the right to have its name on Interior Savings Centre, formerly known as Sport Mart Place and Riverside Coliseum. That 10-year agreement brings in $120,000 for the city each year and is good until 2015. But, unlike the ISC deal, money raised via the Tournament Capital Club Partnership Program won’t go to
Interior Savings Credit Union pays the City of Kamloops $120,000 a year for the privilege of having its name grace the city’s marquee arena. A new naming-rights program is expected to raise another $350,000 in annual revenue — money that will go to societies hosting sporting events in Kamloops. KTW file photo
city operations. Instead, it will be held in trust for the Kamloops Sports Council, which will use it to support societies hosting major sporting
events in the city. For an event such as this summer’s BC Seniors Games, host societies usually have to raise about $150,000 as part of their host-
ing commitment, Pejril said. The bigger the event, the larger the amount. When the Western Canada Summer Games came to town in 2011, Pejril helped raise $1.3 million after the city and province chipped in about $3 million combined. Pejril said having money ready to go will
give the city a leg up on the competition when it comes to attracting events to Kamloops. “It’s a huge advantage at the bidding stage because we’ll already have dedicated funds,” he said. “We’ve already demonstrated community support for the event. “The nice thing about this is we’re not tapping into anything traditional for fundraising, so none of the sports organizations have to worry we’re going after their support.” Bryce Herman, who is tasked with selling the naming rights, said he has already had preliminary discussions about a few of the fields
and expects the first naming rights will be sold within 30 days. Each sale must get a final nod of approval from the Kamloops Sports Council and Herman said he’ll be sensitive to names that might make some in the community uncomfortable — from alcohol or tobacco-related companies, for instance. “We’re not going to sell our soul to the devil,” he said. Herman said the plan is to focus on locally based businesses, but should a national company want to put its name on the waterslide at the Canada Games Pool, it would be considered.
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