Videotron takes naming rights for new Quebec City arena

Canadian communications group Quebecor has secured the naming rights to the new Quebec City Arena for its Videotron cable and wireless business.

The newly-named Videotron Centre is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in September. It is the prospective home venue of Quebec City’s on-going bid to secure an NHL ice hockey franchise.

As manager of the Videotron Centre for the next 25 years, Quebecor will pay the City of Quebec C$33m (€24.4m/$25.8m) in full when the arena opens. This figure will increase to C$64.5m if an NHL franchise is secured.

Quebec City’s minor league hockey team, recently purchased by Quebecor, will play at the C$400m Videotron Centre, but no multi-year professional sports tenant is lined up at present.

According to the Globe and Mail newspaper, Videotron’s wireless service has a Quebec market share of 12 per cent that it will seek to substantially improve through the arena sponsorship.

Manon Brouillette, president and chief executive of Videotron, said: “Videotron is very proud to associate its name and all its brands with what will be an iconic building for Québec City. We have built strong relationships with Québec City residents; we have 600,000 users of our services in the Québec City area and we are part and parcel of their daily lives. So the partnership with the Québec City Arena that we are announcing today is a natural extension of that relationship.”