Victoria city council has approved a draft policy that could open the door to lucrative naming rights contracts on city-owned assets.
Naming rights will now be included as part of the public consultation process for the city’s 2013 to 2015 budget, to take place this fall.
Following last week’s meeting of the city’s governance and priorities committee, Coun. Pam Madoff said council should avoid embracing new economic development initiatives before its final priorities are set.
“When we identified as council what our priorities were, (naming rights) didn’t make it into the top number,” she said. “My concern is that we’re going to lose a really focused approach to establishing our priorities.”
Priority setting is undertaken by a newly-elected council. The priorities are intended to focus city staff and funding.
Last month, staff identified the conference centre, community centres, the Crystal Pool and bridges as potential naming rights assets.
dpalmer@vicnews.com
