Halifax Metro Centre now officially Scotiabank Centre
Posted Sep 19, 2014 01:20:12 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Halifax Metro Centre is now the Scotiabank Centre.
Mayor Mike Savage, Trade Centre Limited president Scott Ferguson and Scotiabank’s VP of the Atlantic region cut the ribbon Friday morning in front of the building.
Ferguson said the partnership with Scotiabank is a no-brainer.
“Guests that are coming to the Halifax Metro Centre will receive a whole higher level of standard, and somebody else is paying for it,” he said after the ribbon-cutting.
Savage echoed that sentiment, saying it’s a “sensible” idea.
“It saves people money, it doesn’t increase the cost of a ticket, and it doesn’t come out of taxpayer revenue,” he said.
Savage fired back at opponents of the new name, who say public buildings shouldn’t be plastered with the names of private companies. The mayor said all over the world, arenas like this are adorned with the names of banks and corporations, and pointed to the example of soccer, where the players even have brand-names on their jerseys. He said he’d only have an issue if the corporation looking for naming rights was a tobacco company.
He challenged anyone who doesn’t like the new name to come up with a way to raise the money Scotiabank is putting towards the building.
Indeed, the bank is putting up lots of cash.
Scotiabank will pay $650,000 a year for 10 years for the right to put their logo on the building, the time clock, the sky-box lounge, and even wheelchairs in the building. That’s $6.5 million over the next decade, $5 million of which will go towards a number of upgrades to the building.
Starting this fall, the washrooms will be updated, and three on the mezzanine level will get a lot more spacious. The eating and drinking area on the concourse level will be expanded, allowing for more people to grab a beer during intermission.
And seat replacement will be phased in over time as to not interfere with any events going on in the building.
Ferguson said Trade Centre Limited is in the process of figuring out what to do with the old seats. They’re considering a contest to give them away, or potentially a charity component. But Ferguson says he wants to see them go to a good home somewhere in Nova Scotia.
In summer 2016, there will be further renovations made to the concessions area, and at a cost of $1.2 million, the ice slab will be replaced. Ferguson said that means replacing about a foot of concrete under the ice.
The first event in the Scotiabank Centre will be the Mooseheads 2014-2015 season home opener Friday night when they face off against the Moncton Wildcats.
