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Town of Hanna signs sponsorships worth $80k 

Stu Salkeld

The Town of Hanna council approved two corporate sponsorship agreements worth $80,000 over the length of the contracts. The resolutions to approve the agreements were passed unanimously at the June 10 regular meeting of council.

Chief Administrative officer (CAO) Matthew Norburn presented councillors with a report on two corporate sponsorship agreements the Town of Hanna was proposing but that require council approval to execute.

Norburn noted the two proposals included a sponsorship agreement between the Town of Hanna and Brandt Tractor Ltd. to provide that company with naming rights for the walking track in Centennial Place and an agreement with The CanAlta Group to provide that company with naming rights for the field house in Centennial Place. The CAO’s report noted the Brandt agreement was worth $20,000 total over five years while the CanAlta agreement was worth $60,000 over 10 years.

The CAO’s report noted that naming rights have been a part of Centennial Place since it was constructed in 2011. “A major component of (Hanna Community Initiatives Association) fundraising efforts included a sponsorship or “naming rights” campaign,” stated Norburn’s report.

“HCIA researched similar projects and developed a comprehensive list of sponsorship/naming rights opportunities. Presentations were made to local businesses, corporations and individuals with the opportunity to contribute to this unique facility and receive naming rights for a particular room or component of the facility. As a result, HCIA were able to secure sponsorship/naming rights agreements for 24 components of the facility. These agreements were established between one and 10 years, depending upon the value of the agreement and the area of sponsorship.”

The CAO noted a number of such agreements are currently in place with other sponsors and expire at certain times in the future.

The agreements noted sponsors pay for costs related to applicable signage denoting the specific feature they’re sponsoring.

Councillors unanimously approved both agreements with no discussion.