Bombers’ field, U of M athletic centre to get updated names after corporate rebranding

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/10/2018 (2839 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The two sports facilities under the Investors Group banner at the University of Manitoba will soon be receiving new names.

Investors Group Field, home to the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and the Investors Group Athletic Centre will be renamed to reflect the rebranding of the company that holds their naming rights.

IG Wealth Management is the new name of the 92-year-old Canadian financial services company, formerly known as Investors Group until the Oct. 2 announcement.

“We’re looking to change those over under the IG Wealth Management banner,” said Court Elliott, the vice-president of sponsorship and community engagement for IG Wealth Management.

“With any rebrand, it does take time. There will be some back and forth with a few different partners around that but first and foremost will be the field. Investors Group Field, although we are the naming rights holder for that, the name of it is a joint venture with the Bombers and us. So we are working with Wade (Miller, the club’s president and CEO) and his team on what that new name will look like.

“We don’t have a specific name yet. We’ve got some options and we’re working with the Bombers. With the season coming to an end, I would imagine it would be more of a springtime announcement.”

Elliott said it isn’t yet known when the gym will be renamed.

“We’re looking to be consistent with the rebrand, so in one way, shape or form, it will likely have IG Wealth Management in there. We’re looking at this one-by-one, piece-by-piece figuring out the budgets and the timing. All those conversations are happening but I just don’t have specifics yet on timing as to when that will be.”

The IGAC is a 70,000-square-foot multi-use facility constructed for the 1999 Pan-American Games. With seating for about 3,000 spectators, it is the home court for Bisons sports and has been used for a variety of other sports, graduation ceremonies and other events.

The football stadium opened in 2013 at the U of M under the IG Field banner in a 12-year naming rights deal. It has seating for about 33,500 for professional football. The stadium has hosted CFL football games, the NHL’s Heritage Classic hockey game in October 2016 (the Winnipeg Jets lost 3-0 to the Edmonton Oilers), FIFA World Cup soccer games and outdoor concerts.

It will be the second time in two years that a major sports facility in Winnipeg has undergone a corporate-driven name change.

The downtown arena that is home to the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets had its name changed to Bell MTS Place in May 2017, about three months after Bell Canada’s acquisition of MTS.

From its opening in 2004 until then, the building had been named the MTS Centre.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca