Vancouver city council has approved a new set of rules for corporate sponsorship and naming rights of city-owned facilities.
The new policy allows a broader range of city-owned assets to receive corporate sponsorships than what previous policies allowed.
Council said the goal is not just to bring in new revenue but also to reduce pressure on property taxes and user fees.
The new rules apply to all city assets and facilities but not parks, streets, libraries or police assets.
“I think we’ve got some assets that really need renewal and it’s no secret that we had some issues with Kits Pool and had to take that offline, for example, for a period of time,” ABC councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung said.
“And I don’t think they figure it’s really Vancouver in the summertime without it. A lot of people really look forward to that experience and were disappointed. So I could point to that as one example.
“When we brought forth the motion around how we could expedite the repairs to Kits Pool and extend the life of it as potentially a great sponsorship opportunity.”
Council will make the final decision on which companies can or cannot put their name on city properties.
They said parties that promote religious or political messages will not be considered.