How should the city pick a name for the new aquatic centre under construction downtown?
A report going before city council on Monday night is asking council to choose between two methods of naming the pool: selling the naming rights to a sponsor (like CN Centre or Rolling Mix Concrete Arena) or engaging the community to suggest a name.
“Administration recommends initiating a Request for Proposal (RFP) process using internal resources to determine what interest may exist in naming rights for the new facility,” city manager Walter Babicz wrote in his report to council. “If council does not wish to pursue naming rights for the new facility, administration recommends engaging the community in suggesting a name for the facility that will portray a strong positive image of the City of Prince George, and have geographic, historical, cultural, indigenous or social significance. The city has a Commemorative Naming Policy… that will provide guidance if the community suggests naming the new facility in honour of an individual or organization.”
Currently the city doesn’t have a policy in place for giving a facility a non-commemorative name, Babicz added.
“A proposed policy to address non-commemorative naming will be brought to council for approval in the coming weeks,” he wrote. “However, as the new facility nears completion and signage materials need to be ordered, administration recommends proceeding with a community engagement process pending council approval of the new policy.”
If council decided to engage the community in the naming process, a staff naming committee would be struck to lead the process and would bring back the top three suggested names to city council for a decision.
The new aquatic centre downtown will replace the non-closed Four Seasons Leisure Pool.
In March 2020, the city and CN Rail renewed the naming agreement for CN Centre. Under the five-year deal, CN Rail pays the city $75,000 per year for the naming rights
In January 2016, Rolling Mix Concrete signed a five-year deal with the city and the Spruce Kings for the naming rights of Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. Under that deal, the company pays between $25,000 and $30,000 per year to the city and Spruce Kings, and provide between $15,000 and $20,000 worth of concrete and $10,000 cash per year towards the construction of the Spruce Kings Show Home Lottery house.
