Housing York considers selling naming rights at its facilities

Staff recommend against advertising sponsorships 'as a bit of a risky proposition', but some councillors suggest dollars could be worth it

Newmarkettoday.ca
May 12, 2023
Joseph Quigley

Corporate names will not necessarily come to York Region housing facilities, but Housing York has not completely closed the door on it yet.

Staff for the region's housing corporation recommended against a policy for advertising sponsorships to name housing facilities. But Housing York’s directors asked May 11 for some parameters for potentially seeking naming sponsorship on ad-hoc, case-by-case basis, which could see councillors try to secure sponsorships in a limited way.

Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said he is hesitant to sell off the names of entire buildings for advertising but added that doing so for smaller spaces, like a community room in a housing facility, could work.

“I’m a huge proponent of sponsorships, but these are people’s homes. I think that’s a fine line,” Taylor said.

Housing York staff presented a report on naming sponsorship for its facilities. Although many York Region municipalities have sponsorship programs, staff identified a distinction between the various recreation facilities that tend to get advertising sponsorships, which have more traffic, and housing buildings.

Staff presented a report to the board of directors May 11 and said a neutral approach could be kept on a case-by-case basis for naming rights for recognition or philanthropy. York's manager of affordable housing development Melissa McEnroe said while philanthropic and recognition naming sponsorships are out there, there was not an example of advertising sponsorships on housing facilities.

“We see this as a bit of a risky proposition," she said, adding there is potential reputational harm for the region with a corporation naming a building for advertising. "Would you feel that it's less of a home and more of an institution?”

Still, some councillors said there is an opportunity by allowing more naming sponsorship to happen. King Mayor Steve Pellegrini said they can be a substantial revenue generator.

“There are some of those combined philanthropic and advertising businesses out there that I think would be very proud to name one of our York Region buildings,” he said.

“Some residents may not like the name on there,” York Region Chair Wayne Emmerson said. “But that keeps costs down, and it helps us keep the buildings in a good state of repair.”

It remains to be determined what locations could be impacted by naming rights meant to advertise. Housing York runs a number of facilities in Newmarket, including Tom Taylor Place, named in recognition of the former Newmarket mayor. It is also building a new housing facility on Bayview Parkway. 

Board members ultimately settled on not yet proceeding with a formalized policy and referring the matter back to staff. They discussed the possibility of regional councillors finding sponsorships in conversations with outside organizations.

But Georgina Mayor Margaret Quirk said the fact these are people's homes makes a difference.

“We need to be very cautious,” Quirk said. “Sometimes, the penny isn’t worth the pain and aggravation.”