The Pengrowth Saddledome sign came down Wednesday from the home of the Calgary Flames and Calgary Hitmen amid speculation a new name will be announced soon.
Speculation is that the new moniker will be associated with Scotiabank.
Ken King, president and CEO of the Calgary Flames, would not comment on the rumour.
"The subject of naming rights will become much more prominent in the next couple of days," said King. "I will not confirm any speculation."
King said media will receive notification soon — perhaps in the next day — regarding the naming rights for the Dome.
When asked if there is a new name, King replied: "It would seem logical."
According to Network Solutions Canada, " scotiabanksaddledome.ca"is a registered domain by the Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club, which is owned by the Flames.
Kelly Kisio, the Hitmen general manager and executive vice-president, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
In an e-mail response, a spokesperson for Scotiabank wrote: "We do not comment on rumour or speculation."
The 10-year Saddledome naming rights agreement with Pengrowth expired in June.
Debi Andrus, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business, said the exposure a company receives by attaching its name to a venue such as the Saddledome is enormous.
"It’s a good idea if it fits within the company’s target market. You have to be strategic. When you go to spend that amount of money to put your name on a building or on a venue, or sports arena, it isn’t going to be cheap," said Andrus. "It depends on your strategy. Do you want to increase awareness of your name? Which is what Pengrowth did. . . . The other approach, of course, is you want to reinforce your position in a community or your support of sports."
Scotiabank has put its name on: Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, formerly the Corel Centre (2006, 15-year agreement); Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver (June 2010); and Cineplex theatres in Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton (2007).
Scotiabank has National Hockey League partnerships as the Official Bank of the NHL, NHLPA (players’ association), NHL Alumni, as well as team sponsorships with the Ottawa Senators and the Calgary Flames. It is also associated with Flames star Jarome Iginla and Olympian Cassie Campbell.
The Flames open their regular season on the road in Edmonton tonight against the Oilers. Their home opener is Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings.
The Saddledome is home to the Flames, the Western Hockey League’s Hitmen, the National Lacrosse League’s Calgary Roughnecks and numerous concerts each year.
The bid for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary and the arrival of the NHL franchise spurred the establishment of the Saddledome Foundation to oversee the development of the facility.
The new arena opened Oct. 15, 1983.
According to the Saddledome website, in 1994, management of the facility was transferred to the newly formed Calgary Flames Limited Partnership. In the fall of that year, renovations totalling more than $37 million were undertaken.
The former Olympic Saddledome was named the Canadian Airlines Saddledome in 1995. It became the Pengrowth Saddledome in 2000.
Jim Kinnear, who was founder of Pengrowth Energy Trust and was instrumental in the initial sponsorship agreement, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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