Canada’s Bell MTS Place (ring) in new name

Article posted by Coliseum, June 23^rd, 2021

Image: CBC

Coinciding with Canada Day on July 1^st, the Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg (Canada) – the arena that lodges the National Hockey League (NHL) team Winnipeg Jets and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose – will get a new name – Canada Life Centre.

Although the deal goes into effect from July 1^st, True North said in a statement that it will take until September to change all the signs.

‘CBC News’ stated that True North Sports & Entertainment has signed a 10-year sponsorship agreement in this regard with Canada Life, an insurance and financial services company and a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco.

The True North Sports and Entertainment Limited is a Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada-based company that owns and operates Bell MTS Place in downtown Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL. The company also owns the Jets’ minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

The 16,345-capacity Canada Life Centre is an indoor arena in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. The arena is the home of the National Hockey League’s Winnipeg Jets and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. The arena stands on the former Eaton’s site and is owned and operated by True North Sports & Entertainment.

Mark Chipman, Executive Chairman, True North, said at a news conference recently, “Opportunities like this to partner with a company and a brand of this magnitude just don’t come along that often.”

‘CBC News’ further stated that the deal includes venue naming rights, signage, scoreboard logos, centre ice logos, venue media backdrops, web, and social media platforms.

Said Paul Mahon, President-cum-Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Great-West Lifeco, during the news conference, “We’ve got deep roots in Winnipeg. Great-West Lifeco has operated in Winnipeg for more than 130 years and employs more than 11,600 people, 3,300 of them in Winnipeg. Great-West Lifeco consolidated its three Canadian life insurance companies and rebranded as Canada Life in 2019. There’s a great synergy there, in terms of us having not only a national existence, but also a local existence.”

The arena opened in 2004 as the MTS Centre, and was renamed Bell MTS Place in 2017 after Bell bought Manitoba Telecom Services.

In a separate statement, True North announced it had signed a five-year deal with Bell MTS to provide telecommunications services for the 2021-2026 seasons. As part of the deal, the Bell logo will remain on the Winnipeg Jets’ helmets for the next five seasons.

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