Mobile phone company signs three-year naming rights deal at north Oshawa arena

The City of Oshawa has signed away naming rights to a second rink inside the Delpark Homes Centre, with Freedom Mobile inking a three-year deal as a sponsor of Arena 2.

Owasco, a Whitby-based dealer of Volkswagen/Audi cars as well as recreation vehicles, signed a five-year naming rights deal with Arena 3 in 2018 and renewed it for another five last year.

Financial terms weren’t revealed for the Freedom Mobile deal but the Owasco contract is valued at just under $16,000 per year.

As naming rights holder of Arena 2, Freedom Mobile’s deal earns the mobile phone company various sponsorship recognition perks, including decals on the arena’s windows and the score clock, rink board advertising, as well as other signage throughout the recreation facility.

The company will also sponsor free skates on certain designated holidays.

“Helping to connect people is one of the cornerstones of our philosophy at Freedom Mobile,” said Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Freedom Mobile. “Bringing people together through sports and recreational activities that everyone can enjoy is a direct extension of our commitment. With this partnership, we’re proud to contribute to the community spirit of Oshawa, a city that is at the heart of our operations in Ontario.”

Delpark Homes Centre, located north of Taunton Road off Harmony Road in the city’s fast-growing north-east, features four full-size ice pads, a leisure pool, a gymnasium, aerobics studio, fitness centre and an elevated indoor walking track. It is also home to an Oshawa Public Library branch and an Oshawa Senior Community Centres (OSCC55+) location.

“Welcome to Freedom Mobile and thank you on behalf of Arena 2’s ice sports users at Delpark Homes Centre,” said Councillor John Gray, who chairs the Community and Operations Services Committee. Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter added that he appreciates Freedom Mobile’s “generous support and investment.”

Oshawa biggest naming rights holder is real estate company Tribute Communities, which signed a ten-year deal in 2016 (taking over from original rights holder General Motors Canada) worth $250,000 annually to put their name on the city’s biggest arena, the home of the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League.

The company extended the arrangement for the Tribute Communities Centre three years ago for another five years, taking the deal to 2031.