Trevor Dailey's Weblog

Recently, I was reminded of the change in name from the John Labatt Centre to Budweiser Gardens in 2012. There is that old question, "What's in a name?' (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2) 

When Museum London, more of an abstract art gallery than a museum to me, had a one time Labatt exhibit, I went to see it. This exhibit had many fascinating artifacts on display documenting the history of the Labatt Brewing Company. It was very well done. I learned a lot about the history of this business, started by John Kinder Labatt in 1847, that has been part of London for 167 years. Budweiser does not hold this distinction.

Companies change hands, being bought and sold, and Labatt is no different. Labatt is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev having been sold in 1995. What Anheuser-Busch InBev should know is history and brand recognition is important. It would be foolish to erase the name Labatt from the Company.

London City Council voted 12 to 3 in 2012 to remove the name Labatt from the building, a name that was there since construction was completed in 2002. One City Councillor, Nancy Branscombe, claimed she did not like the name, Budweiser Gardens, saying it sounded "like a beer tent", but mistakenly voted for the name change after, she claims, she "pushed the wrong voting button".

The motivation behind the name change was money for the City in naming rights, but the City was never told how much money it would be getting from this deal because of "corporate policy". The City voted to remove the Labatt merit, and take the money without even knowing the amount of money the City would be getting. 

No one on City Council stood up and said:

For more than a century and a half, Labatt has been in London. Labatt began here, and has never left. Over these many years, Labatt has employed millions of people through good economic times, and bad economic times. The Company has generously given millions of dollars back to the city it calls its home.

Labatt is more than a business in London, it is part of our history, part of our heritage, it is part of our city family. To agree to this name change would be to turn our backs on Labatt.

This is not about money, nor is it about Anheuser-Busch InBev. To this proposed name change, I say, no thank you on principle. Labatt is with London. London is with Labatt.

Instead, the only real concern of City Council was getting the bag of mystery money that was offered. This is not surprising to me because the City pays about $2 million to $4 million (tax money) per year managing the $10 million (tax money) debt on the building, but the City only receives about $100,000 to $200,000 per year in revenue from the arena, and since the land and property is leased from the City, Budweiser Gardens pays no property tax. 

With this in mind, perhaps the name change was the right thing to do. The Labatt family had the business sense and the integrity the City of London does not have, and the Labatt name deserves better.

© Trevor Dailey

References

Just Right Media: 274 – Guest – Orlando Zamprogna – Ticky tacky muncipal politics 

London Free Press

Labatt

Wikipedia

Museum London