In a colossal deal between two Canadian giants, the home of the Toronto Raptors will get a new name. The Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Raptors and Maple Leafs, will be renamed to Soctiabank Arena as of July 1st according to TSN’s Rick Westhead. The agreement between Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) and Scotiabank is worth around $800 million. It is believed that this deal is the largest annual building and team sponsorship in North American sports history, at $30 million per season.
Air Canada Centre has hosted the Raptors and Maple Leafs since 1999. Under Air Canada Airlines’ previous agreement with MLSE, they paid $4 million per year. MLSE’s Chief Commercial Officer David Hopkinson says there were several other bidders for eh naming rights to the complex. “To be honest, it wasn’t that difficult to find interested suitors,” Hopkinson said. “This is already firmly established as Canada’s premier entertainment venue… We felt we had a very good sense about what the market would bear and Scotia and ourselves have agreed on what that number should look like.”
For Scotiabank, it gives them control over what they view as a premier entrainment center in Canada. Scotiabank Chief marketing Officer John Doig tells TSN the arena is “the pre-eminent property in the country”. “There isn’t a busier sports and entertainment venue in Canada,” Doig continues. “Frankly, it’s in the top echelon of venues around the world.” The MLSE-Scotiabank agreement is worth more than several other high-value sponsorship deals, including JP Morgan Chase for Madison Square Garden. JP Morgan Chase agreed to pay the Golden State Warriors $15-$20 million per year to have the naming rights for their new arena, which is due to open for the 2019-2020 season.
The upcoming Raptors’ season will be their last at the Air Canada Centre. The arena name gave way to one of former Raptor Vince Carter’s nicknames: Air Canada. Check out a clip of some of Carter’s monstrous slams during his “Air Canada” days.
