Key takeaways:
- ‘Islanders from across this region were very upset — very, very upset — that this had taken place.’
- Council had been offering to name separate center components to recognize the Simmons household.
After citizens mobilized to save the old name, the Charlottetown city council is taking another peek at naming rights for a recent sports center on the Simmons Sports Centre site.
Council-backed plans for the new $25-million facility in January. In March, it voted to name it the D.P. Murphy Wellness Centre after P.E.I. businessman Danny Murphy, who purchased the naming rights for $250,000.
The Simmons family has rallied to help to keep the aged name. The family granted the land for the center to the city 50 years back.
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Council initially replied with a request to honor the initial donation by naming individuals members of the center — the arena fields and pool — after the Simmons family and acknowledging their gift with a historical display inside the facility.
On Monday council voted 6-3 to delay the whole naming discussion.
Most city councilors did not have accurate data going into the actual vote surrounding naming rights. Mitchell Tweel.
Source – cbc.ca
