[LINK] "Will the CN Tower Hawk Its Name for $78 Million?"

[rfmcdonald]

Ick.

When SkyDome surrendered its name to Rogers Communications back in 2006, Torontonians were outraged. Now that we've had a few years to get used to it, the edges seem to have dulled—winner: Rogers, who now have what probably amounts to the cheapest major ad space in the city. And since they bought the entire bankrupt six-hundred-million-dollar venue for a bargain twenty-five million, Rogers didn't even have to negotiate the naming rights.

Today, Torontoist has learned that a somewhat unknown Toronto company will be announcing a bid to audaciously rebrand the city's flagship landmark, the CN Tower. Better sharpen those pitchforks now.

Online used car retailer (!) Vehicle Gateway Corporation will be offering seventy-eight million dollars for branding rights to the tower, which include plans to lock the new LED lighting system into a green-only configuration, renaming the thirty-four-year-old tourist attraction as the "VG Tower."

Though the structure has changed ownership over the years, any whiff of a name change has been met with strong opposition. Divested by the Canadian National Railway for thirty-five million dollars in 1995, the CN Tower is currently owned by the Canada Lands Company, an arms-length Crown corporation. For years, there have been suggestions that the government might consider selling the naming rights to its real estate assets, with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty using the CN Tower as a specific example in 2008.

"We are fully prepared for the outcry," said Peter Davies, director of Sales and Marketing at Vehicle Gateway, when reached yesterday. "We do have plans in place for a smooth integration of the name into the minds of Torontonians."

Davies told Torontoist that the sventy-eight-million-dollar bid would be amortized over a twenty-five-year period, adding that what amounts to about three million dollars per year isn't that outrageous for a corporate advertising budget. When asked how the private company—which only launched its site on March 3—was financed, Davies offered no comment, stating only that it consisted of a board of automotive experts and venture capitalists. When we expressed scepticism that the naming bid sounded like a publicity stunt for a fledgling startup, Davies was adamant.

"I can understand where you're coming from, but this is a legitimate bid."

This has to be stopped.