Evinrude Centre is to become the Healthy Planet Arena

$240K deal for 10-year naming rights up for council approval next week

The Evinrude Centre will be renamed Healthy Planet Arena if city council adopts a staff recommendation on Tuesday.

Healthy Planet Canada is prepared to pay $240,000 over 10 years for the twin-pad arena’s naming rights. A staff report says the city is no longer obligated to continue using the Evinrude name.

Earlier this year Bombardier Recreational Products announced it was discontinuing the Evinrude brand.

Council will consider the report at Tuesday’s general committee meeting. It states 375 local and area businesses were contacted in the process of procuring naming rights. A dozen engaged in more detailed discussions and Healthy Planet was deemed the best fit.

Started as a single kiosk on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue in 1995, the company now has 28 stores in Ontario including Brookdale Plaza on Chemong Road which opened in 2018.

“This is another source of revenue for the city beyond increasing people’s taxes,” said Coun. Lesley Parnell, chair of the arenas, parks and recreation committee. “Advertising in our arenas is money which helps us with everything else we want to accomplish including our new twin-pad. It’s our first venture into renaming an arena on behalf of a sponsor.”

The city purchased the land where the Evinrude Centre is located, at 911 Monaghan Rd., from Outboard Marine Corp., which closed its factory in 1990, for $300,000.

To recognize the historical connection a plaque will be placed prominently in the facility and further options will be looked at to recognize OMC’s employee history within the arena, the report states.

Parnell doesn’t anticipate any public backlash to renaming the facility. She’s also confident staff exhausted all attempts to find a sponsor with local origins.

“This now opens the door. We’re going down the path of building a new twin-pad arena and aquatics complex and there are going to be all kinds of sponsorship and naming opportunities with that,” she said.

The report states Healthy Planet is a good fit for the type of business the city would want in a naming rights partner. The deal also provides some advertising on city buses and both the city and company have a right to terminate the agreement after five years.

Healthy Planet is a growing chain of health and wellness stores specializing in vitamins, health foods, supplements and bath and beauty products.

“We are always looking to give back to the community,” said Healthy Planet director of sales and marketing Syed Rizvi. “Peterborough is a growing market and we have a store there and I think we are opening another store and expanding the chain.”

It’s a Canadian-owned family business, he said, and he believes part of their success is in supporting the communities it expands to.

“We strongly believe in giving back to our communities and are heavily involved whether it’s the Santa Claus parade or local community events.”

It’s a natural fit to align their brand with a recreational facility. It’s a high-traffic facility that allows them to engage with an active, recreation-minded audience.

The city also has arena pad naming rights agreements with Leon’s Peterborough and Freedom Mobile at the Evinrude Centre and with Mr. Lube Peterborough at the Kinsmen Civic Centre.

“This is another source of revenue for the city beyond increasing people’s taxes.”

COUN. LESLEY PARNELL ARENAS, PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE CHAIR