B.C. Place naming rights might soon be sold off

B.C. Place Stadium — home of the B.C. Lions, the Vancouver Whitecaps, largescale concerts and events — soon could have a new name.

The B.C. Pavilion Corp. (PavCo), which manages the stadium, will soon seek a private sponsor to pay for the right to put their name on the massive sports and entertainment venue. The provincial government announced Monday it had given PavCo approval to issue a request for proposals (RFP).

This comes seven years after the B.C. Liberal government scuttled naming-rights talks it was having with Telus, that would have seen the province earn $35 million over 20 years in exchange for turning B.C. Place into Telus Park. At the time, the province claimed the deal wasn’t lucrative enough and they wanted to keep the B.C. Place name.

It’s unknown how much it would cost for a company to put their name on the stadium but any funds exchanged would go toward offsetting the stadium’s operations, freeing up government funding for other projects.

“This naming-rights sponsorship opportunity will make more funds available for government to improve the services that British Columbians count on,” Tourism Minister Lisa Beare said. “We believe this is an excellent time to look for the right corporate partner for this important facility in B.C.”

The RFP was posted publicly Monday, with additional information expected Feb. 19.