With the 10 year naming rights deal expiring this past summer, and no known extension being announced, it is possible the Canucks could soon return to a renamed arena. Here is who we believe might be the front-runner, and fans are not going to appreciate it.
The arena in Vancouver has been known as Rogers Arena since July of 2010 when it took over the naming rights to the then General Motors Place. Many thought it would simply be Rogers Place to maintain a part of the old name, but we all know that name would later be used in Edmonton instead. And because Rogers now has their name on another building, you have to wonder if they will shift their focus to the newer facility, home to the Oilers. While they are a large company and could certainly afford to continue paying to have their logo on both buildings, there has been no public announcement of an extension. So lets assume, for a moment, that the Canucks are to get a new naming rights partner. Who might that be. While it could be a number of local or national corporations, there is one name that seems to show up more and more lately around the home of the Canucks.
This is the part where Canucks fans may not appreciate this post because of a particular rival team's arena, but I feel its necessary to acknowledge the possibility that TD Bank could be a front-runner if the time comes for a new name. TD has been steadily increasing their presence around Rogers Arena for the past few seasons, and while this does not mean they are a shoe-in, it certainly shows they have a great and growing interest in this team.
Now you might think they would never name another sports facility in North America after the TD brand. After all they already have TD Garden in Boston, TD Place in Ottawa, TD Station in Saint John, TD Arena in Charleston, and TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha. Why would they ever consider another one? Well when Scottrade Center was bought out by TD Ameritrade, the home of the Blues nearly became TD Ameritrade Center. Ultimately, TD showed no interest in the St. Louis market. We circle back to their increased interest in the Vancouver market though, and it would seem plausible that they could add this venue to their portfolio.
So, if they did take over naming rights, what would they call it? So many names are already used, and I somehow find it hard to believe they would use TD Ameritrade Centre since it sounds a little too American, and this is Canada. So our prediction (and we know this is still a long shot) is that the next name for the home of the Canucks will be TD Forum. Check out our ice concept below.
