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Banff looks at venue sponsorship

The Town of Banff is going after corporate sponsorship for The Fenlands Recreation Centre to help generate revenue – but Banff’s politicians say any deal must align with the national park townsite’s values.

The Town of Banff is going after corporate sponsorship for The Fenlands Recreation Centre to help generate revenue – but Banff’s politicians say any deal must align with the national park townsite’s values.

On Monday (March 26), council got its first glimpse of a draft sponsorship policy that lays out the conditions under which the municipality would accept marketing-style sponsorships for its various facilities and programs.

Town officials say the policy will define the types of corporate or individual sponsorship opportunities the Town of Banff would accept to make sure the Town’s reputation or public image isn’t harmed.

“Banff’s a popular destination and people recognize Banff and like to be affiliated with Banff, and there’s support for sponsorship of some of our facilities to bring in revenues,” said Mayor Karen Sorensen.

“Personally, I want to assure that we are looking at sponsorships that represent the park’s values and healthy lifestyle values. I wouldn’t consider a tobacco company, for example, as an appropriate corporate sponsor.”

Councillor Leslie Taylor said she is okay with the concept of sponsorship in principle, however, said the Town needs to identify the buildings, facilities and programs that cannot be named or logos used on or with.

“We should indicate which of the Town’s assets are not open to marketing sponsorships,” she said. “We won’t want Kleenex Town Hall, so we should probably say Town Hall is not open to marketing.”

Taylor said more thought also needs to be given to what happens when companies that compete directly with local taxpayers want to sponsor a Town of Banff asset.

“Suppose Mount Equipment Co-op wanted to be named as a sponsor. We have a lot of sporting companies in town, who would compete with Mountain Equipment Co-op?” she asked.

“They would compete with our taxpayers. It’s hard, but it’s a discussion we need to have.”

Coun. Chip Olver said she would like to see a check list when looking at sponsorships.

“We could look at ethical purchasing and environmental practices, for example,” she said.

The draft policy indicates any sponsorship agreement with naming rights or a value of greater than $50,000 would have to go to public tender.

Sponsorship agreements with naming rights or those worth more than $100,000 will be reviewed by the Town’s solicitor and must have the final stamp of approval from council.

Deals between $50,000 and $100,000 will be reviewed by the Town’s legal counsel and authorized by the department manager, while agreements under $50,000 could be authorized by the department manager.

Mayor Sorensen said she believes there are mixed feelings among council on this point.

“As we wade into this and get our feet warm, administration may come to us more often in the first couple of years,” she said.

Taylor said she believes council needs to lower the level of sponsorship agreements that can be negotiated by staff to $25,000.

“That $50,000 seems to be set at which decision-making rests with the department manager, and $50,000 seems very high to me for that level of authority,” she said.

Mary Brewster, Banff’s community services manager, said opportunities exist to offset the cost of municipal programs and operations through sponsorship arrangements with individuals or corporations.

Once the policy is approved by council, Brewster said the Town plans to release a Request for Proposal (RFP) to get an idea of what Banff’s assets are worth in terms of potential sponsorships.

“The Fenlands is certainly a priority for sponsorship, but it’s also for other recreational facilities and programs as well, like ball diamonds, or new and existing playgrounds, for example,” she said.

“The first phase is looking at doing an evaluation of our assets, to get the experts to tell us what they think naming is worth, plus other potential sponsorship opportunities the Town may have.”

The draft policy is expected back before council at its next meeting, April 9.


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