Edmonton councillors vote to sell naming rights of Clareview Recreation Centre

The Clareview Community Recreation Centre in northeast Edmonton will soon have a new name.

City councillors voted 8-5 in favour of a 10-year naming and sponsorship agreement Monday morning, that would see the facility renamed the “Jumpstart Community Recreation Centre.” The agreement is between Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities and the City of Edmonton.

The partnership will see both sides work together to introduce new initiatives, programming and activities at the rec centre, in hopes of increasing access to marginalized and vulnerable groups.

The recommendation to pursue sponsorship opportunities for several Edmonton recreation facilities first came from administration in October 2020. It was part of administration’s COVID-19 recovery plan to generate revenue that offsets a proportion of operating costs over the 10 years of the agreement.

Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities submitted an expression of interest to purchase the naming of Clareview Community Recreation Centre.

In a report presented to council earlier this year, administration pointed out that the agreement aligns directly with the new Jumpstart Inclusive Playground, which opened in May just outside the Clareview rec centre. Administration noted the playground followed a Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities mandate to remove accessibility barriers to sport and recreation for children with disabilities.

Several councillors spoke in opposition of the partnership Monday, including papastew Coun. Michael Janz, who was concerned about the perception of having the Jumpstart name on the building, and the precedence the partnership could set. Janz was one of the councillors who voted against the naming partnership, as well as councillors Erin Rutherford, Ashley Salvador, Anne Stevenson and Jo-Anne Wright.

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, who supported the motion, said Monday that while the idea may have been brought up earlier in the pandemic when financial times were tough, he said the city is still facing financial challenges and partnerships like this can help.

pihêsiwin Coun. Tim Cartmell said the move is not unprecedented, noting a few examples where sponsorships have been in place with city facilities, including the former Shaw Convention Centre.

Cartmell believes partnerships like this will continue to be explored in the future because of the high number of demands and work that needs to be done by the city with city services.

“I think this is a good agreement,” Cartmell said. “I strongly urge my colleagues to support this.”

1:40 Inclusive playground now open in northeast Edmonton

The main form of the rec centre will be “Jumpstart Community Recreation Centre,” while the long form will be “Jumpstart Community Recreation Centre in Clareview.”

The sponsor’s name, Jumpstart, will be identified on capital assets, such as pylon signs and signage on the facility. Costs for implementing the name change on city assets will be incurred by Jumpstart.