BC Place: Stadium Refurbishment | Completed

[Homeowner]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

officedweller, why did you edit the following relevant passage from the Sun article?:



So, Telus was willing to change the signs and pay the full $40 million. Yet the government still cancelled the deal.

So unfortunate. How are we going to cover those costs of renovating the place? Tax payer dollars!! Very dumb decision on the liberals part.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

officedweller, why did you edit the following relevant passage from the Sun article?:

So, Telus was willing to change the signs and pay the full $40 million. Yet the government still cancelled the deal.

Because it was already stated in the part that I did quote.

The Telus spokesman, who did not want to be named due to sensitivity of negotiations, confirmed that was Telus’s position in its written terms, but added the company later took that off the table.

One thing that is a big factor is that government is very cautious not to vary the terms of an RFP in negotiations - otherwise unsuccessful bidders may have a claim against them for an unfair process.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Because it was already stated in the part that I did quote.

Thank you. I see that now.

[BCPhil]

Since when did this province fill up with whores so willing to sellout the name of publically owned property to make back a few pennies on the dollar spent? This would have been what... 6% of the total cost of the upgrades, OVER 20 YEARS!? It would hardly cover the cost of inflation on the interest on the debt payments.

So big freakin' deal we didn't get the money. I for one am glad I don't have to look at something I paid for with the name Telus all over it like they invented the 🞵🞵🞵 🞵🞵🞵🞵 place....

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to Science World... no wait, I mean 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 TELUS World of Science.

And note, the capitalized TELUS emphasizing the name is how it is printed up on official TELUS World of Science material (It's even in Bold in many places). Even though, according to the FAQ they don't do jack squat for the non-profit organization:

Is Science World government-funded/owned by TELUS?
No. Science World is a non-profit organization.

TELUS owns naming rights to our False Creek facility.

So seriously, why is it so wrong to keep our legs closed and turn down a few bucks from a company many people in BC absolutely HATE? In return we get to keep the name of a building that has hosted the Queen and the Pope and been a venue for many great concerts, multiple Grey Cups (including 2 of the only 4 ever Grey Cup Wins by the host in CFL history), Expo and the Olympics.

I'm with cornholio on this one. BC should leverege the public investment in BC Place for the gain of the people of BC, not some corporate entity, which in fact distanced themselves from their BC history by dropping the name BC Tel. That's how much they respect the identity and heritage of British Columbia.

But go to the BC Place website and you have no indication whatsoever that there is heavy (read: total) taxpayer involvement with BC Place. Any curious person from outside the province doing a google search of the stadium (maybe they want to read seating charts for a football game they are coming to or a concert, or see other information) should be hit by ads for BC Tourism.

And the name itself does have meaning. The name is a symbol and recognition that BC Extends beyond the GVRD. It is BC's stadium. Built at a time when focus was on Vancouver itself (Expo), and the rest of BC was feeling left out. The name is there to remind us, and everyone else, that this stadium isn't just for wealthy elite in the city, but that it is a public facility, built by the taxpayers of this province for all to enjoy. It was the centerpiece of the BC Pavilion at Expo, built to show off what this entire province is capable of doing. At the time we were considered back-water hicks inhabiting fishing villages and logging camps, but we built the worlds largest air supported domed stadium. BCers did that: hence BC Place.

[JimmyJ]

^^^^^^^

[SpongeG]

did anyone catch the global news report just now on the issue?

they said that some dude from telus and some dude from the liberals - maybe falcon? - had a shouting match over this issue apparently though when questioned by the reporter tthe government side said no

[Porfiry]

Originally Posted by BCPhil

BC should leverege the public investment in BC Place for the gain of the people of BC, not some corporate entity, which in fact distanced themselves from their BC history by dropping the name BC Tel. That's how much they respect the identity and heritage of British Columbia.

Oh, so you think they should've named the merged company "BCTel"? Just how well do you think that would have been received in Alberta?

[Metro-One]

We use Bank of Montreal, Toronto Dominion, New york Fires, etc... here, why cant other places in the world use businesses with BC's name in it?

[SpongeG]

Bank of montreal and toronto dominion are no longer - they are know the more friendly BMO and TD

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Although the style of the proposed sign is not as cool or tasteful as I had envisioned (for example, I had envisioned a series of simple, crisp, clean looking backlight signs covering the exposed concrete bulkheads around the stadium), it is hardly a reason to forfeit $40 million dollars of revenue.

First of all it was $35million over 20 years, NOT $40million which equals to $1.75million per year, enough for a viaduct study and some change.

Second of all it was in today's dollars, so the real value is significantly lower. 1.75million today is not 1.75 million i 20 years, in fact its about half that.

Third of all it amounts to about $2.50 per ticket for all regular season home games of the Lions and Whitecaps, include the playoffs and other events and its not much at all. I will happily pay some change to not be subject to Telus's marketing attacks and a giant Telus sign defacing one of the most beautiful views in Vancouver.

Its over 20 years, 20 years. Lousy $35 million over the next 20 years of all our lives to deface the city, deface a land marks name, having to listen to Telus place being said millions of times on radios, tvs, in news papers

[NewfBC]

Jobs, Tourism and Innovations Minister Pat Bell, who had previously said a decision was made that it was important to retain the B.C. Place name, remained on the defensive Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/business/best+deal+Clark+says/6298952/story.html#ixzz1p6R0uOYA

Hmm.. Mr. Bell - conflict of interest maybe? Maybe he wants to see his name on the building. LOL

Ron.

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by NewfBC

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/business/best+deal+Clark+says/6298952/story.html#ixzz1p6R0uOYA

Hmm.. Mr. Bell - conflict of interest maybe? Maybe he wants to see his name on the building. LOL

Ron.

What I find funny is that his right hand man is Kevin Falcon(another Kevin Falcon ) ...What a opportunity for the NDP, they can drag Kevin Falcon's name in to any negative news about BC Place as a bonus, most people wont realize its a different person as it is linked to the Liberals already and the damage will be done.

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by cornholio

First of all it was $35million over 20 years, NOT $40million which equals to $1.75million per year, enough for a viaduct study and some change.

Second of all it was in today's dollars, so the real value is significantly lower. 1.75million today is not 1.75 million i 20 years, in fact its about half that.

Third of all it amounts to about $2.50 per ticket for all regular season home games of the Lions and Whitecaps, include the playoffs and other events and its not much at all. I will happily pay some change to not be subject to Telus's marketing attacks and a giant Telus sign defacing one of the most beautiful views in Vancouver.

Its over 20 years, 20 years. Lousy $35 million over the next 20 years of all our lives to deface the city, deface a land marks name, having to listen to Telus place being said millions of times on radios, tvs, in news papers

well put and I see things similar to you

[Echowinds]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Bank of montreal and toronto dominion are no longer - they are know the more friendly BMO and TD

That's missing the point. The fact is, TD is still officially known as Toronto Dominion, and BMO is still officially Bank of Montreal. That's retaining their heritage while being easier on the consumers. A company with "British Columbia" in it can simply shorten their name...such as BC Tel. There's no "British Columbia" in it from a marketing angle.

I wouldn't harp on Telus as much due to the fact that it is formed from a company merger (and admittedly, Telus is a lot more regional neutral than BC Tel), but there's no reason why you couldn't market BC in a company name.

[Prometheus]

More juicy details:

Telus jumped through all hoops on B.C. Place — was still jerked around


By Michael Smyth, The Province, March 15, 2012


Telus was so confident of landing a deal to rename B.C. Place that it twice invited — and then twice uninvited — Hollywood music legend David Foster to attend the christening ceremony for the refurbished stadium.

Telus CEO Darren Entwistle, who knows Foster from charity work, asked the Victoria-born music man to attend a splashy ceremony renaming the stadium "Telus Park."

The invitation was made twice, and then cancelled twice, as negotiations between the government and Telus bogged down, eventually collapsing completely last week...

The Christy Clark government cancelled the proposed $35-million naming deal with Telus last week, offering a bewildering variety of explanations — everything from the proposed Telus signs being too big to a desire to keep the "iconic" B.C. Place name.

Telus is furious at all the excuses — and not just because the company's CEO had to twice eat crow with a Hollywood hotshot.

It was the government's own Crown corporation in charge of the stadium that put the naming rights up for sale, invited Telus to the bargaining table and even conducted focus-group testing on the new name.

"Telus is an appropriate naming sponsor for the facility," concludes a 25-page internal briefing note I obtained Wednesday.

Telus is "recognizably Canadian, financially capable and stable [and an] active sponsor of charity and community events," says the 2010 document, prepared for the brass at the B.C. Pavilion Corp...

"Bottom line: Telus meets and exceeds all criteria," the document concludes.

So why did it all fall apart? Clark repeated Wednesday that the proposed deal was bad for taxpayers, specifically saying Telus didn't put enough money on the table.

But insiders close to the negotiations insist the deal was comparable to other stadium-naming deals in Canada, and especially reasonable for a stadium featuring medium-market sports products such as CFL football and MLS soccer.

The company tried to accommodate the government's concerns about the "iconic" B.C. Place name by putting a dogwood flower emblem, instead of its corporate logo, on the sign.

Telus was so confident of landing the deal, after signing a "letter of intent" last March, that it went ahead and had three huge signs made by the Pattison Sign Group.

The three signs were constructed before the deal was put to bed because Telus wanted them ready for the stadium's grand reopening last September, as well as the Grey Cup game in November.

But, to the company's frustration and anger, the deal never got done and was eventually nixed.

The three massive signs are now gathering dust at a warehouse in Penticton, while the company decides what, if anything, to do with them.


Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Telus+ju...+around/6305491/story.html#ixzz1pMXxjfSI

[SFUVancouver]

Something tells me that the Telus CEO won't forget about this when it comes time for the Liberals to run for re-election. Why on earth would a struggling government go out of its way to alienate the largest private employer in the province?

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Something tells me that the Telus CEO won't forget about this when it comes time for the Liberals to run for re-election. Why on earth would a struggling government go out of its way to alienate the largest private employer in the province?

And to ADD to that, a company that [essentially] chose Vancouver over Calgary?

For those that don't know, Telus was a merger between BC Tel and Alberta Government Telephones company, which had been combined and renamed Telus.

They chose Vancouver as their head office and kept the Alberta company's name (which made sense anyhow).

They bought ClearNet soon after and have used their advertising and look and feel ever since.

[Pinion]

Quebecor just agreed to pay $33 million plus $3.15 million annually for an arena in Quebec City with no big league team. If an NHL team is acquired, Quebecor would hand over $63.5 million for naming rights, plus $5 million in annual rent.

Puts the Telus deal in perspective.

Source: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=391352

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by Pinion

Quebecor just agreed to pay $33 million plus $3.15 million annually for an arena in Quebec City with no big league team. If an NHL team is acquired, Quebecor would hand over $63.5 million for naming rights, plus $5 million in annual rent.

Puts the Telus deal in perspective.

Source: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=391352

it sure does. the Telus deal was a BAD deal all around. The signs they wanted to put up would have made the stadium look horrible.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Pinion

Puts the Telus deal in perspective.

Does it? The story also says:

The media empire landed the naming rights for the future arena and was granted exclusive rights to manage the facility.

That's a massive difference. The deal with Telus was for naming rights only; Telus would have had absolutely no say on the management of the stadium or rights to any of the stadium's revenue. That right would have remained exclusively with PAVCO (i.e., the province). Quebecor, by contrast, will essentially have total control over the arena and, I assume, its revenue.

Puts the Quebecor deal in perspective.