New-look Scotiabank Arena signs on
Changeover from ACC goes deeper than name after ‘matrix’ of tweaks
Goodbye, Air Canada Centre. Hello, Scotiabank Arena.
It might not roll off the tongue yet, but starting Sunday the home of the Maple Leafs, Raptors and Rock sees its name change become official.
Some signage updates will be visible almost immediately, changes within the rink will be ready for puck drop on the Maple Leafs’ regular season come Oct. 3, and Maple Leaf Square will undergo an evolution — including dynamic new video screens — that might take a little longer.
It’s all part of a rebranding made necessary when Scotiabank won the naming rights of the building at the corner of Bay St. and Lake Shore Blvd. last summer, paying $800 million over 20 years to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
So “Air Canada Centre” — or “the ACC” — is officially joining “SkyDome” in the dustbin of Toronto’s sporting history. But people still know where the SkyDome is, and the O’Keefe Centre, and the Molson Amphitheatre, even if those buildings are not called that anymore.
So will people actually call it Scotiabank Arena?
“We need to earn the right in the consumer’s mind for them to say that,” said John Doig, chief marketing officer of Scotiabank. “Why do they want to call it Scotiabank Arena, or the Scotia, or Scotia Arena? They’ll want to call it that when they come down to experience it, and it’s different. It feels better. Out on the square, it’s fun. In the building, we’re going to be in the building in a huge way interactively.
“Over time, you earn the right. You can’t mandate it. If we don’t do this right, then they won’t call it that.”
To that end, changes are underway:
The upscale Air Canada Club above the 100 level has been gutted down to the concrete, to be replaced with a remodelled Scotia Club version that will include four- and six-seat loges where dinner can be served and the game can be seen.
The entrances to a handful of gates will be changed to make access to the inside a little easier.
The grey aluminum siding atop the outdoor walls will be replaced with black cladding.
The eight-year-old video screen at Maple Leaf Square will be replaced.
“It’s more than the name on the side of a building,” said Doig. “It’s about the fan experience. Inside the building, outside the building, on the way down to the building.”
On the east side of the building, the “Scotiabank Arena” sign will change colour, much like the CN Tower does at night. On the west side, each letter in “Scotiabank Arena” will be its own video screen, that will accompany the main screen.
“Wherever we could, don’t make it static,” said Doig. “Make it live and breathe. If something epic happens inside the building, you can play it through the letters. If something sombre is happening in the city, you can reflect that in the sign as well. It’s completely dynamic.”
Those are some of the most obvious changes. There are Air Canada logos everywhere: on garbage pails, carpets, on a door, in the washroom, directional signage, the website …
“There are 2,700 rows of seats in the bowl that has two ends,” said Nick Eaves, chief venues and operations officer at MLSE. “Every one of those ends has a logo on it. Every one of them needs a new Scotiabank logo on them.
“It’s a matrix of endless elements.”
The heritage elements of the building — the old post office walls — will be retained.
Security-related changes, in the wake of the Yonge St. van tragedy, are coming as well. The city, MLSE and Scotiabank are investigating security solutions that are somewhat more beautiful than the chipped concrete edifices and street-blocking garbage trucks now used to protect big crowds at Maple Leaf Square.
For Scotiabank, naming rights for the rink is a huge win, another step in a decade-long process in which Canada’s third largest bank has tried to become synonymous with hockey. The bank has had an 11-year partnership with the NHL, renewed recently to 2022. It’s a major sponsor of women’s and minor hockey.
“When we are able to associate with the grassroots, nothing moves our brand equity scores higher than hockey,” said Doig. “That’s super important to us. It has been incredibly successful for us.”
As for basketball, Scotia’s online bank, Tangerine, will play a large role with the Raptors, a team that caters to a younger demographic than the Leafs.
The arena is the busiest in Canada, third-busiest in North America ( behind Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center in New York) and among the top 10 in the world. According to Buzzfeed, the Air Canada Centre is the most Instagrammed place in Canada.
“Twenty years ago, there was nothing here,” said Doig.
“Now it’s the heart of the city. This is the destination. It’s a lively place, a place you want to be.”
Air Canada will remain the official airline of the Leafs and Raptors.
“We look at it as a continued relationship with the Leafs and Raptors. We’re delighted,” said Andy Shibata, managing director of brands for Air Canada. “We had an amazing 20-year run (with naming rights). We’re proud of that.”
Scotiabank also has naming rights in Calgary (Scotiabank Saddledome) and Halifax (Scotiabank Centre).
For Toronto, Scotiabank did consider reviving the name “Gardens” but its research showed that could have been polarizing. “Some people go: ‘Yes, you brought the Gardens back, that’s wonderful.’ Other people say, ‘Scotiabank, you have nothing to do with the Gardens. You’re borrowing somebody else’s equity.’ When you have something that polarizes like that, you stay away,” said Doig.
“With Scotiabank Arena, big things happen in arena. The Canadian view is, an arena is ice. The European view of an arena is bullfighting, and concerts, and soccer matches. We took the broader meaning of arena.” So it’s Scotiabank Arena. “It’s going to be our job to demonstrate to the fans that we’ve made improvements to the experience so they call it that,” said Doig.