Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by thewave46

Speaking of annihilating history:

What do I call arenas in Canada anymore? I just noticed that MTS Pla...er, BellMTS Place has become Canada Life Centre.

I still call the Senators' arena the Corel Centre. It's had about 4 different names now.

I've given up on Rogers anything. SkyDome or bust as I've no idea what to call their various venues. Rogers Arena? Rogers Place? Rogers Centre?

I'm still referring to Scotiabank Place as the Air Canada Centre. Because there are several other modern and previous incarnations of Scotiabank rinks.

Once the Saddledome eventually becomes Corporate Sponsor X (Maybe another Rogers thing? Rogers Garden? Rogers Event Centre?) Place, I'll have almost no idea where an arena is until the team is mentioned.

What I find funny is that people stay attached to a former corporate name. When our arena here in London was renamed Budweiser Gardens, people were like "It will always be John Labatt Centre to me". Do people in Houston say the baseball stadium will always be Enron Field to them? lol.

Rogers Arena and Place or obviously corporate sponsorship deals, but I look at Rogers Centre similarly to Wrigley Field. Both owned by a couple rich guys who put their names on the ballparks, like they did to their businesses. Wrigley Field wasn't called that when it was new either, and I bet no one back then said "It will always be Weegham Park to me".

Locally again, the stadium at Western University was named TD Waterhouse when it was built over 20 years ago, and then shortened to just TD Stadium maybe 10 years later. This past year, they did a renovation on it, totally new field and track and I think they are planning to add more actual chairs, replacing some of the benches. The Western Alumni association kicked in a couple million to the cost and the stadium was renamed to Alumni Field. Which was confusing because the artificial turf rugby and soccer fields to the south of the stadium were called Alumni Field when they were new. To add to the confusion, the stadium at the university of Windsor is called Alumni Stadium, so there were a couple football games this year I had no idea where they were playing lol.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

What I find funny is that people stay attached to a former corporate name. When our arena here in London was renamed Budweiser Gardens, people were like "It will always be John Labatt Centre to me". Do people in Houston say the baseball stadium will always be Enron Field to them? lol.

That's a little different since Labatt was a very historical brewery that was founded in London. I definitely get being attached to that way more than their new corporate overlord from St. Louis or Belgium or wherever.

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

What I find funny is that people stay attached to a former corporate name. When our arena here in London was renamed Budweiser Gardens, people were like "It will always be John Labatt Centre to me". Do people in Houston say the baseball stadium will always be Enron Field to them? lol.

It is more that whatever makes the initial association sticks longer. The Air Canada Centre also has more stick because it was named that for 20 years.

So, yeah, when someone says Scotiabank Arena, I have to think 'Wait, right, that's the ACC's new name' and not the one that was previously named Scotiabank Place in Ottawa a few hours away.

So, when the new corporate sponsor for the new Calgary Events Centre (Scotiabank? Rogers? I await with bated breath) I'll have to sit there and mull over 'Exactly what hockey arena are they referring to?'. I don't have to do this with the Saddledome. Or the SkyDome. Or Madison Square Garden.

First-world problems, I know.

[HomerSPC]

Originally Posted by thewave46

Once the Saddledome eventually becomes Corporate Sponsor X (Maybe another Rogers thing? Rogers Garden? Rogers Event Centre?) Place, I'll have almost no idea where an arena is until the team is mentioned.

Wasn't the Saddledome the "Scotiabank Saddledome" at one point?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by HomerSPC

Wasn't the Saddledome the "Scotiabank Saddledome" at one point?

It's had a few names.... Olympic Saddledome, Canadian Airlines Saddledome, Pengrowth Saddledome, Scotiabank Saddledome... have I missed any?

[esquire]

Now that enough time has passed since the demolition of the Winnipeg Arena, I've gone back to calling the place where the Jets play 'the arena'

[WhipperSnapper]

No room to expand BMO westward.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

No room to expand BMO westward.

Looks like a decent amount of space there. I think if they removed the original west second tier and rebuilt it to the height of the east side addition, they don't extend the footprint that much, if at all. It would just be steeper. Obviously they wouldn't plan to have the seats extend west of the roof.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.63240...7i13312!8i6656

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Looks like a decent amount of space there. I think if they removed the original west second tier and rebuilt it to the height of the east side addition, they don't extend the footprint that much, if at all. It would just be steeper. Obviously they wouldn't plan to have the seats extend west of the roof.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.63240...7i13312!8i6656

I stand corrected. There's a little more than I remembered and I'll take your word that it can be done in that space.

[WhipperSnapper]

Hockey is still played in Maple Leaf Gardens. I was always in the nosebleeds expect for one game. Definitely still feel the history.

[thurmas]

Winnipeg Arena had character in spades. From the Queen portrait, the wooden seats squeeking in unison when people rose for o canada, the urinal troughs with molson dry cups and players cigarettes flowing down them to the cheese wiz colored concourses, the steep upper decks and the so called private suites that consisted of plaid benches and knob style 1970s archie bunker TV sets.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Winnipeg Arena had character in spades. From the Queen portrait, the wooden seats squeeking in unison when people rose for o canada, the urinal troughs with molson dry cups and players cigarettes flowing down them to the cheese wiz colored concourses, the steep upper decks and the so called private suites that consisted of plaid benches and knob style 1970s archie bunker TV sets.

What an awesome description!

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by thurmas

the urinal troughs with molson dry cups and players cigarettes flowing down them to the cheese wiz colored concourses.

So the urinal troughs flowed directly down onto the concourses!!!

Doesn't sound very sanitary.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Winnipeg Arena had character in spades. From the Queen portrait, the wooden seats squeeking in unison when people rose for o canada, the urinal troughs with molson dry cups and players cigarettes flowing down them to the cheese wiz colored concourses, the steep upper decks and the so called private suites that consisted of plaid benches and knob style 1970s archie bunker TV sets.

It really was a fantastic place. It opened in 1955 but it had the soul of a much older arena... it basically had the MLG seating layout. It was probably one of if not the last big arenas built that way.

They added on to it, most notably in 1979, but they never ever really attempted to modernize the place apart from a feeble half-hearted effort before the Pan Am Games in 1999. It had that old character right to the end.

[WhipperSnapper]

I don't know the history of the Wrigley Field name. I suspect it's named after the man with the added bonus selling chewing gum. Rogers Centre is named after Rogers Communications. The "Rogers " in Rogers Centre is trademarked. The similarities are purely coincidental

Naming rights on buildings is passe. Now its the CIBC fan deck at Comiskey Park . Next will be McDonald's in the Bud Light concession experience at Minute Maid Park.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

I don't know the history of the Wrigley Field name. I suspect it's named after the man with the added bonus selling chewing gum. Rogers Centre is named after Rogers Communications. The "Rogers " in Rogers Centre is trademarked. The similarities are purely coincidental

Naming rights on buildings is passe. Now its the CIBC fan deck at Comiskey Park . Next will be McDonald's in the Bud Light concession experience at Minute Maid Park.

Wrigley and Rogers are essentially the same situation. Wrigley Field was named Weegham Park, Wrigley bought it and the Cubs and eventually put his name on it (after calling it Cubs Park first for a few years). I'm sure the business was why he chose to name it Wrigley. Don't see how that differs from Rogers Centre at all.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Wrigley and Rogers are essentially the same situation. Wrigley Field was named Weegham Park, Wrigley bought it and the Cubs and eventually put his name on it (after calling it Cubs Park first for a few years). I'm sure the business was why he chose to name it Wrigley. Don't see how that differs from Rogers Centre at all.

As I suspected from a bit of googling, Wrigley Field is confirmed to be named after the family name of the owner and not his company. That's very different from Rogers Centre which is named after Rogers Communications.

[Taeolas]

It seems obvious to me (but I'm not in marketing so what do I know?) that Arenas and Stadiums should try to have something distinctive in their names, and naming rights should be %Company% %DistinctName%. (Scotiabank Saddledome, Rogers Skydome, etc...). That gives the paying company the publicity they're after, but it also keeps the place memorable to everyone else so they can remember which Rogers or Bell arena is in which city.

The selling rights might need to give a slight discount because they couldn't sell the full name, and people would probably still refer to it as "Saddledome" or "Skydome" or whatever; but it would probably work out for the better in the end.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

It seems obvious to me (but I'm not in marketing so what do I know?) that Arenas and Stadiums should try to have something distinctive in their names, and naming rights should be %Company% %DistinctName%. (Scotiabank Saddledome, Rogers Skydome, etc...). That gives the paying company the publicity they're after, but it also keeps the place memorable to everyone else so they can remember which Rogers or Bell arena is in which city.

The selling rights might need to give a slight discount because they couldn't sell the full name, and people would probably still refer to it as "Saddledome" or "Skydome" or whatever; but it would probably work out for the better in the end.

I think it's very intentionally done the exact opposite for that reason. Sponsors don't want you to be able to describe the place without their name, so it's all generic "centre" "arena" etc.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

It seems obvious to me (but I'm not in marketing so what do I know?) that Arenas and Stadiums should try to have something distinctive in their names, and naming rights should be %Company% %DistinctName%. (Scotiabank Saddledome, Rogers Skydome, etc...). That gives the paying company the publicity they're after, but it also keeps the place memorable to everyone else so they can remember which Rogers or Bell arena is in which city.

The selling rights might need to give a slight discount because they couldn't sell the full name, and people would probably still refer to it as "Saddledome" or "Skydome" or whatever; but it would probably work out for the better in the end.

Scotiabank Air Canada Centre. I know that's not what you are suggesting. Just syaing there are more and more facilities that have only been named after corporate sponsors. Last thing a company spending $10 million or $700 million wants is to encourage people to not say their name.