We Take Our Best Guesses at BC Place’s New Name

Which brand will win the bidding war to corporatize a Vancouver landmark?

One of the biggest landmarks in British Columbia is poised to get a rebrand sometime this year. In order to “offset costs” the government is going to sell the naming rights to BC Place to (probably) the highest bidder, as we inch closer and closer to the corporatization of all things.The home of the BC Lions and Vancouver Whitecaps also hosts numerous annual events and should be a highly coveted placeholder for Vancouver’s rich and powerful.So, what can we expect in the new name? Here are some of our best guesses, with tongue only slightly planted in cheek.

Rogers Something

There’s already Rogers Arena directly across the street from BC Place, and the Edmonton Oilers play at Rogers Place, so that’s out of the question. Then there’s the Rogers Centre in Toronto, which the company changed from the awesome SkyDome because of course they did.But the company’s slogan (“make more possible”) seems to be alluding to the possibility of somehow, someway, finding as many alternatives for “area to play sports in” as imaginable. What’s next? Rogers Stadium? Rogers Coliseum? Rogers Park? The possibilities are…well, quite limited actually.

Scotiabank Grass at BC Place

Scotiabank is one of the biggest companies in Canada and owns many stadiums, including the home of Toronto’s Maple Leafs and Raptors franchises.It also committed a hostile takeover of heritage when it rebranded the beloved Nat Bailey Stadium by calling it Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium. If you refer to it as anything but The Nat or Nat Bailey, you’re not a Vancouverite.

The Telus World of Sports

Speaking of which, I really want to meet someone who refers to the massive globe in Olympic Village as its actual, corporate-approved name. Who’s to say Telus doesn’t try to pull it off again? After all, the two icons are practically neighbours.

The Hootsuite Orb of Fun

Hey, the stadium is really not that far from Mount Pleasant! Time for a radical rebrand. Replace the hot dogs with avocado toast and get that Budweiser out of there in favour of local craft beer and kombucha. It’s time for Vancouver’s tech sector to really emerge. We just don’t hear enough about it, you know?

The Death Star Presented by the Aquilini Investment Group

I mean, you have to think that the Aquilini family is annoyed they only own the second biggest stadium in town, right? Shouldn’t be long until they pursue control of the entire galaxy, er, Vancouver.

Netflix’s Riverdale Stadium

Can’t be long until Netflix follows other content creators into the lucrative world of sports and event hosting. This would be a smart tie-in for the company’s incredibly popular Riverdale series (did you know it’s filmed in Vancouver?).

“Arena” by Rennie

The gentrification of Chinatown and its surrounding areas just wouldn’t be complete without Rennie’s stamp on the hood’s biggest building. Out: jerseys and team merchandise. In: modern art interpretations of the province’s biggest sports moments.

Aurora’s Joint

Cannabis is legal now, so the government would have no real reason to say no to a burgeoning business like the Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis. The push to get the stadium to have a designated section for smoking marijuana (and only that) would be entertaining to watch.What say you? Any guesses?