A Peterborough, Ont., law firm has agreed to pay $600,000 over the next 10 years for the naming rights to the city’s new twin-pad arena.
On Monday, Peterborough city councillors will vote on a staff report that recommends a naming rights sponsorship with Miskin Law for the new arena complex at Morrow Park on Lansdowne Street.
If the deal is approved, the twin-pad arena will be named the Miskin Law Community Complex during the duration of the agreement.
Construction continues on the over $65-million sports complex which will feature two NHL-size ice surfaces, a library complex, a running track, a multi-purpose space, commercial office space and “potentially” a future aquatics complex.
The arena is scheduled to be open in the fall of 2024.
The city issued a notice to solicit naming rights in January 2023. Freymond says staff engaged with 30 naming rights “prospects” and held discovery session meetings with 11.
“Based on several months of discussions and meeting with prospects, staff recommend Miskin Law as the best prospect to proceed to finalizing a sponsorship naming right agreement,” said Richard Freymond, the city’s commissioner of finance and corporate support services. “The opportunity with Miskin Law represents an appropriate fit with all parties’ interests and aligns well with the building naming right asset.”
If the agreement is approved, the report notes the city will receive $90,000 per year for the first five years, totalling $450,000. The remaining $150,000 will be paid at $30,000 per year over the following five years.
“The facility naming right is the single largest sponsorship asset accounting for 60 per cent of the $1-million sponsorship target,” Freymond said. “The $600,000 value associated with this asset puts the city in a positive position to achieve its revenue target for the project.”
Freymond noted there are potential other naming rights within the facility including the two ice pads and library.
The report highlights Miskin Law as a local law firm with satellite offices in Lindsay and Whitby and its partner Murray Miskin is a Trent University alumni and former president of the Trent Student Union, member of the Trent Board of Governance, and vice-president of the Alumni Association.
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Miksin Law is also described as being “rooted in the community” as members of a number of organizations including the Peterborough and Kawartha Chamber of Commerce, Peterborough Law Association, and has a history of sponsoring local community organizations, including stage naming rights at Market Hall, sponsorship of the United Way Peterborough and District, Kawartha Food Share, the Peterborough Humane Society, Peterborough senior Lakers lacrosse, Fourth Line Theatre, and Minor Petes hockey teams.
“Miskin Law wishes to give back to the community in which they live and operate their business,” Freymond said. “Sponsorship offers prominent business profile and supports integration into the Peterborough community, as they have consistently done through other community sponsorships, radio and TV advertising campaigns and community involvement for many years. This objective is aligned with the opportunity and intended purposes of the Building Naming Right Asset.”
Recent naming agreements the city has entered include The Healthy Planet Arena (formerly known as the Evinrude Centre) in 2021 and the new downtown urban park known as Quaker Foods City Square which opened in fall 2022.
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