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objectid
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britishcolumbia_princegeorge
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format
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record
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Settlement Name
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Prince George
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Has Policy?
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Yes
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Policy
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POLICY
GUIDELINE NAME: NAMING RIGHTS
CATEGORY: CITY GOVERNMENT – EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE
APPROVED BY COUNCIL: 2019/12/16
DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE: EXTERNAL RELATIONS
1. POLICY STATEMENT:
Naming Rights refers to the City granting the right to name a piece of property or portions of a
property in exchange for financial consideration.
This policy is intended to cover Naming Rights for Civic Facilities. There is a companion policy, the
City of Prince George Commemorative Naming Policy, that governs Commemorative Naming.
Commemorative Naming is not normally made in exchange for financial consideration.
The City recognizes Naming Rights as an opportunity to offset the costs of municipal infrastructure,
programs, and operations, and as a way to recognize partnerships contributing to local services and
quality of life.
2. PURPOSE:
The purpose of this Policy is:
2.1 To provide clear and consistent guidance regarding Naming Rights for Civic Facilities;
2.2 To uphold the City’s stewardship role in safeguarding the City’s assets, interests, and image;
2.3 To encourage investment in Civic Facilities;
2.4 To balance public and private interests by encouraging naming in exchange for financial
consideration while acknowledging continued public investment in and ownership of Civic
Facilities; and
2.5 To provide an enabling environment for the City to enter into Naming Rights Agreements with
corporations, groups, or individuals within set guidelines and procedures.
City of Prince George – POLICY: Naming Rights
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3. SCOPE / APPLICABILITY
3.1 This policy applies to existing or planned Civic Facilities.
3.2 This policy does not apply to:
3.2.1 The naming of neighbourhoods, subdivisions, streets and roadways;
3.2.2 The naming of litter containers, park benches, picnic tables and trees;
3.2.3 Core Facilities as defined in Section 4;
3.2.4 Civic Facilities where the City has an existing Occupation Agreement with a Tenant
that includes Naming Rights; and
3.2.5 Advertising within Civic Facilities and sponsorships of programs, projects, events and
activities.
4. DEFINITIONS
In this policy, the following terms have the meanings set out below:
“City” means the City of Prince George municipal corporation;
“City Council” means the municipal council of the City of Prince George;
“City Manager” means the chief administrative officer of the City;
“Civic Facilities” means any property, facility, structure, building, or portion thereof, owned or
controlled (through a lease or occupation agreement) by the City. This includes but is not limited to
arenas, conference centres, pools, bridges, trails, parks, playgrounds, sports fields, athletic parks
and ball diamonds. Civic Facilities as it pertains to the City of Prince George Naming Rights Policy
excludes properties identified in section 3.2;
“Commemorative Naming” means the naming of a Civic Facility or parts thereof, in honour of
individual(s) or organization(s) for outstanding achievement, distinctive service, and/or significant
community contribution. Commemorative naming can also be made in honour of historic sites,
significant events, or geographic features. Commemorative naming is not normally made in
exchange for financial consideration. Commemorative Naming by the City is addressed within a
separate policy: City of Prince George Commemorative Naming Policy;
“Core Facilities” means Prince George City Hall, City fire halls, and City police stations;
City of Prince George – POLICY: Naming Rights
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“Naming Entity” means the entity (e.g. corporation, community organization, or individual) to whom
Naming Rights are granted pursuant to a Naming Rights Agreement;
“Naming Rights” means the right to name a Civic Facility, or parts of Civic Facility, granted in
exchange for financial consideration, and where a Naming Entity provides goods, services or
financial support to the City in return for the Naming Entity’s access to the commercial and/or
marketing potential associated with the public display of the organization's name on a Civic Facility
for a specified period of time;
“Naming Rights Agreement” means a contractual agreement for the exchange of naming rights
between the City and the Naming Entity for a specified period of time;
“Occupation Agreement” means the lease, sublease, license, sublicense, management or operating
agreement which grants a Tenant the right to use and occupy a Civic Facility or a portion thereof;
“Tenant” means a person, corporation, organization or other entity occupying a Civic Facility through
an Occupation Agreement.
5. GUIDING PRINCIPLES
5.1 The City supports revenue generation from Naming Rights Agreements when these
agreements directly benefit the community of Prince George and the City. These agreements
must result in a net financial benefit to the City.
5.2 Civic Facilities that are available for Naming Rights will not normally be considered for
Commemorative Naming. However, Civic Facilities that are already commemoratively named
may also be considered for Naming Rights without requiring the removal of the existing
Commemorative Name.
5.3 Naming Rights Agreements will normally not be considered if they:
5.3.1 imply the City’s endorsement of a partisan political or ideological position or of a
commercial product;
5.3.2 convey a message that might be deemed prejudicial to race, religion, gender or
sexual orientation;
5.3.3 present demeaning or derogatory portrayals of communities or groups, or in light of
generally prevailing community standards, could reasonably be expected to cause
offence to a community or group;
5.3.4 promote alcohol or other addictive substances at venues geared primarily to children;
or
5.3.5 involve an individual, business or organization whose products or services are known
to include the sale of sexually explicit materials or illegal products or substances.
City of Prince George – POLICY: Naming Rights
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5.4 Naming Rights Agreements must not compromise the City’s or a Tenant’s ability to carry out
its functions fully and impartially.
5.5 Signage and acknowledgement associated with Naming Rights must comply with all
applicable laws and City bylaws, and must be approved in advance by the City. While the
physical display of the Naming Right shall be negotiated or decided upon as part of the
Naming Rights Agreement, such recognition must not unduly detract from the character,
integrity, aesthetic quality, or safety of the property, or unreasonably interfere with its
enjoyment or use.
5.6 During the consideration of Naming Rights, the City will endeavour, to the extent reasonably
practicable and in accordance with this Policy, to balance confidentiality of the Naming Entity
with the City’s responsibility to maintain transparent processes and provide information to
the public.
5.7 Proceeds from the Naming Entity for Naming Rights of a Civic Facility will be received by the
City and used by the City for any lawful purpose.
5.8 All Naming Rights Agreements will be for a fixed term.
5.9 Neither the City nor its Tenant(s) may relinquish any aspect of its right to manage and
operate a Civic Facility through a Naming Rights Agreement.
5.10 A Naming Rights Agreement must not conflict with the terms and conditions of any existing
Occupation Agreement between the City and a Tenant.
5.11 The granting of Naming Rights will not entitle a Naming Entity to preferential treatment by the
City outside of the Naming Rights Agreement.
5.12 An independent market valuation will normally inform a Naming Rights Agreement to ensure
a fair, transparent, and consistent practice.
6. AUTHORITIES
6.1 City Council may:
6.1.1 Approve and authorize Administration to enter into a Naming Rights Agreement; and
6.1.2 Authorize Administration to terminate a Naming Rights Agreement.
6.2 The City Manager may:
6.2.1 Solicit, receive, and develop proposals for Naming Rights;
6.2.2 Evaluate Naming Rights proposals for Civic Facilities based on this Policy;
6.2.3 Bring to City Council proposals for Naming Rights for approval; and
City of Prince George – POLICY: Naming Rights
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6.2.4 Provide reports to Council from time to time on Naming Rights Agreements that are
nearing expiration or where Council may wish to consider terminating Naming Rights
Agreements.
7. NAMING RIGHTS AGREEMENTS
7.1 Naming Rights Agreements will be in the form of a legally binding contract between the City and
Naming Entity and should include or address the following matters:
7.1.1 A description of the naming arrangement;
7.1.2 The term of agreement;
7.1.3 Renewal options, if any;
7.1.4 Value assessment, including cash and/or in‐kind goods and services (and method of
evaluating the value of in‐kind contributions);
7.1.5 The responsibilities for the cost of the development and installation of a logo, signage
and any other promotional benefit which should be carried whenever possible by the
Naming Entity;
7.1.6 Naming and signage rights and any additional promotional benefits;
7.1.7 Fees and costs, accompanied by a payment schedule;
7.1.8 Installation and maintenance of signage;
7.1.9 The ability for the City to remove or cover signage for limited periods such as during an
event where the City has a legal obligation to ensure sites are free of competing
corporate signage (e.g. a named sporting event);
7.1.10 Release, indemnification and early termination clauses in favour of the City;
7.1.11 The right for the City to terminate a Naming Rights Agreement if the Naming Entity fails
to fulfill its obligations in regards to the payment schedule, uses the City’s name outside
the parameters of the Naming Rights Agreement without prior consent, or if the Naming
Entity develops a public image that is unacceptable to Council;
7.1.12 Reference to procedures and costs to be incurred once a Naming Rights Agreement has
expired or terminated; and
7.1.13 Insurance clauses in favour of the City.
The following documents do not form part of the
policy and are for staff reference only.
The following pages include:
Report to Council from the Council meeting agenda
Meeting minutes containing the resolution of Council approving
the policy
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Contact Info
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NA
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Policy Score
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67
