North Bay's Memorial Gardens has a new name — sort of.
It will in the future be Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens after the city signed a sponsorship agreement with the mining giant for $485,000 over five years. The agreement was officially approved on Jan. 27 by city council. The facility is home to the North Bay Battalion Hockey Club.
The money will be divided evenly between the city and the Battalion.
The company gets exclusive branding rights, including on the exterior of the Chippewa Street building and on the electronic sign out front, and then they'll have some branding inside also.
Between now and July, the transition will take place with all the new signage.
The company provided a joint statement by Denis Despres, Boart Longyear’s CEO of drilling services, and Ermanno Simonutti, CEO of drilling products.
“As a proud member of the North Bay community for almost 100 years, Boart Longyear is thrilled to become a visible part of the city skyline by naming the well-known arena," the execs said.
"Our nearly 200 local employees look forward to joining other North Bay residents to enthusiastically support the Battalion and other events at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.”
The company's local plant is located at 1111 Main St W. with headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.
"This agreement represents an exciting partnership that helps support the arena’s operations and highlights Boart Longyear’s deep roots in our community and ongoing support for North Bay,” said Mayor Peter Chirico.
Scott Abbott, the owner of the Battalion, said he's extremely pleased that the city and Boart Longyear reached the agreement.
"The building has a long and storied history in which the North Bay Battalion has been proud to have played a part. We look forward to many more years representing North Bay in the Ontario Hockey League and bringing the name Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens to ever more fans.”
The naming agreement’s five-year term ends on June 30, 2030.
The Gardens was built in 1955 and has a capacity of 4,246. The Gardens was home to the North Bay Centennials from 1982 to 2002. The arena's primary tenants today are the Battalion and the Nipissing Lakers men's and women's hockey teams of the OUA.
Established in 1890, Boart Longyear is in its 135th year as the world’s leading provider of drilling services, orebody-knowledge technology, and innovative, safe and productivity-driven drilling equipment.
The company has a rich history. It started in 1890 when Edmund J. Longyear sank his first diamond drill hole on the Minnesota Mesabi Range. It's now the world’s leading provider of drilling services, drilling equipment, and performance tooling for mining and drilling companies globally, and today its Drilling Services division operates in 15 countries.
Up next for the city will be establishing a naming rights agreement for the new arena and rec centre at Omischl.
SEE: City staff favours elaborate process to monetize, name new arena
With council approval, the twin-pad arena and community centre project on the grounds of the Steve Omischl Sports Complex will remain nameless as policies and initiatives for naming recognition and sponsorship opportunities are explored.
