“Barrie Molson Centre” Days Are Numbered

Barrie’s south end arena will have a new name by this time next year. The naming rights on the Barrie Molson Centre are set to expire as of the end of 2018, and City Hall Monday night began the process of finding a new name. City staff will start looking for anyone interested in purchasing the naming rights. City Hall said an independent valuation pegged the cost at $150,000 to $200,000 for a ten to fifteen-year agreement, but Mayor Jeff Lehman points out that given the location of the facility, and the importance to the community, the naming rights would probably go at a much higher value. Coors Molson earlier this year turned down the chance of renewing the naming rights on the south end facility, after holding it for the last 25 years. The naming rights were given in exchange for 9 acres of south Barrie land back in 1994, as part of an agreement then valued at a million dollars.