The British Columbia government "has cancelled a proposed" C$40M deal with Telus to rename B.C. Place Stadium, according to Jeff Lee of the VANCOUVER SUN. The deal fell through after the provincial cabinet "balked at renaming the iconic stadium Telus Park, even though market research done by the B.C. Pavilion Corp. and Telus showed public support for renaming the facility if the money would go toward paying down" the C$563M cost of renovations. The decision "throws into disarray an expansive digital telecommunications deal that Telus pushed ahead with last year in the expectation the government would approve the renaming deal." Documents "outline a detailed rebranding strategy for the stadium that would have promoted the tag line 'Super, Natural British Columbia' in concert with Telus’ well-known nature image -- even going so far as to rename gates after trees and flowers." The deal was "so advanced that Telus had spent millions of dollars on signs that were to be mounted externally on the stadium." But the government "killed the deal after it felt the iconic building should retain the name it was born with nearly 30 years ago." B.C. Jobs, Tourism & Innovations Minister Pat Bell said, "There are many in cabinet and many across the province who believe that name has tremendous value to it and we wanted to retain that." B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Finance Minister Kevin Falcon added the deal "wasn't in the best interests of taxpayers." Bell said that B.C. Pavilion Corp. can now "sell advertising sponsorships on the inside of the building that he thinks will amount to more than" C$40M over the same 20-year term (VANCOUVER SUN, 3/8). In Vancouver, Frank Luba notes there "had been some concerns in the naming negotiations because while Telus is a sponsor" of the CFL B.C. Lions, who are one of the tenants of B.C. Place, another tenant, the MLS Whitecaps, are sponsored by Telus rival Bell. A "technology deal will still be worked out between the B.C. Pavilion Corp. and Telus for the equipment installed in the stadium" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 3/8).
