Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3 - Page 5

WhipperSnapper · #1 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 5:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

I'm a bit surprised that MLSE is going with "arena" since the risk of that kind of noun is that people will just shorthand it as "meet me at the arena" (or coliseum, or forum). You can't really do that with "place" or "centre".

But speaking of LA, I always thought they had one of the better corporate names on an older venue... the Great Western Forum. When I was a kid I thought it was a geographic reference (like Pacific Coliseum in Van), I didn't realize it was the name of a bank. Corporate names were still uncommon then, of course. But this one was a good fit.

Source: wikipedia

AFAIK, this is the first thing to be branded Scotiabank Arena. There is some sense to that over Scotiabank Centre & Scotiabank Place. "Meet me at the arena" is as ambiguous as those since it's not the only arena in downtown Toronto. (it doesn't matter what you say if the meeting place is also the destination) ACC will live on in shorthand. It just flows so nicely.

osmo · #2 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 4:24 PM**

Good point on the Great Western Forum, growing up I had no idea it was a corporate name also. If I recall it was just called "The Forum" when it was built?

Let's not forget Wrigley Field which was named for Wrigley gum, when they (or him) were owners of the team. Corporate names are nothing new in buildings but attention needs to be paid to length of time and quality of the brand that goes after naming rights (The Brick Field is terrible, Hard Rock Stadium... Terrible)

The old corporations named after families always sound best. Next is a corporate name with some sort of geography reference in it like "Great Western" or "Air Canada", but overall what makes a name stick is time and or winning. The United Center opened in 1994 I think but has become normalized from all those Bulls championships.

I remember when American Airlines bought the name for Miami after Dallas and I thought that was silly - having two arenas with the same corporate brand slapped on with just Arena and Center tacked on. Leagues should of stepped in to stop such silly stuff - Canada has taken it to another level though.

esquire · #3 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 4:33 PM**

^ I agree, if a venue has to have a corporate name, an actual family name is best followed by appropriate geographic references. Beyond that I'd say that having a corporation with a significant connection to the market is preferable... having super-generic names like "Colisée Pepsi" or "Rogers Place" when there is no particular corporate connection to a city beyond just selling the product there sounds a little goofy.

(And yes, it was just "The Forum" or until 1988 when GW bought the naming rights.)

Berklon · #4 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 4:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I agree, if a venue has to have a corporate name, an actual family name is best followed by appropriate geographic references. Beyond that I'd say that having a corporation with a significant connection to the market is preferable... having super-generic names like "Colisée Pepsi" or "Rogers Place" when there is no particular corporate connection to a city beyond just selling the product there sounds a little goofy.

Ummm... wouldn't "Rogers Place" be excluded from your naming objections since it's an actual family name?

esquire · #5 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 4:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berklon

Ummm... wouldn't "Rogers Place" be excluded from your naming objections since it's an actual family name?

To my knowledge it's named after the company (which is obviously named after the founder) and not the family directly.

Acajack · #6 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 6:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I agree, if a venue has to have a corporate name, an actual family name is best followed by appropriate geographic references. Beyond that I'd say that having a corporation with a significant connection to the market is preferable... having super-generic names like "Colisée Pepsi" or "Rogers Place" when there is no particular corporate connection to a city beyond just selling the product there sounds a little goofy.

(And yes, it was just "The Forum" or until 1988 when GW bought the naming rights.)

Wasn't it also referred to as the Fabulous Forum? Perhaps not officially.

I also liked Great Western Forum. Had no idea it was a bank, though I figured it was named for some company.

Phoenix has the worst corporate arena names: Talking Stick Resort Arena and Jobing.com Arena.

FutureSmith · #7 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 6:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Phoenix has the worst corporate arena names: Talking Stick Resort Arena and Jobing.com Arena.

Hard to get anyone to sponsor a ghost town

elly63 · #8 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 8:22 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Wasn't it also referred to as the Fabulous Forum? Perhaps not officially.

Officially no, colloquially yes. Most commentators of the day would say something like "Welcome to the Fabulous Forum" I think early on Jack Kent Cooke said "Welcome to My Fabulous Forum"

Funny how the penchant for nicknaming arenas seems to have died down. Remember when some people wanted to call GM Place in Vancouver "The Garage" or ACC "The Hangar" and some tried to call THF "The Donut Box" or "Coffee Grounds"

About this whole corporate naming thing, especially the ones that involve the same company; I have to take a second or two to actually figure out where they are talking about. Possibly because I don't follow sports as in depth as when I was younger, I don't make the connection quickly, even the most famous ones.

J.OT13 · #9 Posted **Aug 31, 2017, 2:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I agree, if a venue has to have a corporate name, an actual family name is best followed by appropriate geographic references. Beyond that I'd say that having a corporation with a significant connection to the market is preferable... having super-generic names like "Colisée Pepsi" or "Rogers Place" when there is no particular corporate connection to a city beyond just selling the product there sounds a little goofy.

(And yes, it was just "The Forum" or until 1988 when GW bought the naming rights.)

C'mon, Pepsi and Joe Louis is the official breakfast of Québec!

Horus · #10 Posted **Aug 31, 2017, 1:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.OT13

C'mon, Pepsi and Joe Louis is the official breakfast of Québec!

Now that Detroit is opening their new arena (Little Caesars Arena), it's time for Quebec to move forward and reopen the Videotron Centre naming rights to sell to Vachon. Jos Louis Arena!

Acajack · #11 Posted **Aug 31, 2017, 2:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horus

Now that Detroit is opening their new arena (Little Caesars Arena), it's time for Quebec to move forward and reopen the Videotron Centre naming rights to sell to Vachon. Jos Louis Arena!

I like the way you think!

osmo · #12 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 5:49 PM**

Imagine if Scotiabank took half of that $800 million and built a CFL facility in Halifax and slapped it's name on it, that would be almost too perfect, nobody would object to it. It was be great for these big companies to do something very local with the sports and branding combos.

esquire · #13 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 6:12 PM**

^ I suspect that "Scotiabank Arena" was used somewhat reluctantly given that Scotiabank Centre already exists in Halifax, and there was until recently a Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.

FutureSmith · #14 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 6:22 PM**

So does anyone know when the naming rights are up on Vancouver's arena, and whether or not Rogers will re-up now that they have their name on Edmonton's rink?

esquire · #15 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 6:35 PM**

Phoenix has had some terrible names, KFC Yum! Center is another one that stands out for being lame.

FFX-ME · #16 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 6:52 PM**

Well Nashville's Bridgestone Arena used to be called the Gaylord Entertainment Center...

Berklon · #17 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 7:09 PM**

The Penguin's "PPG Paints Arena" is a pretty horrible name.
Also "Little Caesars Arena (Red Wings) and Guaranteed Rate Field (Whitesox) aren't much better.

The University of Phoenix Stadium was always a head-scratcher. The University of Phoenix doesn't have a football team playing out of that stadium... in fact, the University doesn't have ANY sports teams.

It's all about who's willing to pay the most.

king10 · #18 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 7:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berklon

The Penguin's "PPG Paints Arena" is a pretty horrible name.
Also "Little Caesars Arena (Red Wings) and Guaranteed Rate Field (Whitesox) aren't much better.

The University of Phoenix Stadium was always a head-scratcher. The University of Phoenix doesn't have a football team playing out of that stadium... in fact, the University doesn't have ANY sports teams.

It's all about who's willing to pay the most.

lol the University of Phoenix is solely online i think.

Also at least Little Caesars Arena had a connection to Detroit and their late owner.

Acajack · #19 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 7:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by king10

lol the University of Phoenix is solely online i think.

Also at least Little Caesars Arena had a connection to Detroit and their late owner.

I did not know that Mike Illitch was dead until now.

Berklon · #20 Posted **Aug 30, 2017, 8:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by king10

Also at least Little Caesars Arena had a connection to Detroit and their late owner.

Yup, I'm aware of that connection... but it doesn't make the name any better.
The taxpayers funded that arena after the city declared bankruptcy - they should at least name it after the city or an icon of the city. A total joke that the arena is made in the situation they were in - and I don't buy the whole "it will build up the economy" bullshit).