Return to News Releases

February 6, 2008

Shaw, TBayTel go Head to Head Again

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 - The Chronicle-Journal

Shaw Place?
The TBayTel Centre?
The Thunder Bay Community Auditorium could soon have a name like one of these.
Auditorium officials have announced rival telecommunications companies Shaw and TBayTel as the businesses which have expressed an interest in sponsoring the 1,500-seat facility‘s name.
A third firm, The Adventure Group, responded to the expression of interest, but only to offer its services in helping to locate a suitable sponsor.
Shaw and TBayTel have been embroiled in a dispute since Shaw added digital phone service to its line of products available in the Thunder Bay region, competing directly with TBayTel for that market.
Whether this conflict will spill over into the pursuit of a naming sponsor for the Auditorium remains to be seen.
“We‘re hoping to have the requests for proposals in the hands of (the interested parties) within the next two weeks to a month” Auditorium general manager Bob Halvorsen said Tuesday.
Thunder Bay‘s premier theatre venue has been looking for naming sponsors since December.
Shaw Cablesystems officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
TBayTel spokesmen declined comment on the matter, describing it as a private one at this early stage.
Later stages in the process will involve the Auditorium drafting formal requests for proposals from the two companies. Negotiations will follow the selection of a successful proposal, at which point a final recommendation will be made to the Thunder Bay city council.
Estimates place the time of the final recommendation at approximately June.
Halvorsen emphasized that the schedule does not necessarily mean that one of the candidates will be chosen.
“We‘re not bound to take any of them,” said Halvorsen. “At the end of the day it‘s a decision that will be made to pick one, or none.”
More information about the Auditorium can be found online at www.tbca.ca.