It doesn’t look like the Barrie Molson Centre will be renamed the Sadlon Arena after all.
Barrie city councillors voted to look for a better deal after Paul Sadlon Motors Inc. proposed to buy the naming rights to the arena for 25 years at a cost of $2 million.
Councillor Doug Shipley argued that similar sized cities are making at least $200,000 a year on OHL arena naming rights. The deal would have seen Paul Sadlon pay an estimated $100,000 a year for 20 years.
A motion was approved to have city staff take the Sadlon proposal off the table and go back to the drawing board to find a better deal. That motion still needs to be approved by full council next week.
Molson Coors has held the naming rights since 1994. The beer company has said it’s not interested in renewing the deal.
