La Nation council has reviewed amendments on a policy that will allow companies and organizations to bid for naming rights on the new sports complex being built in Limoges and any other municipal facilities. Council discussed the policy on June 13, after previously requesting more clarification on the draft policy first presented in May. 

The new complex will include indoor soccer fields and a community hall. 

The policy explicitly emphasizes that the municipality will retain ownership and control over any facility where a business or organization obtains naming and sponsorship rights. La Nation will consider all applications for naming or sponsorship but reserves the right to reject all of them, and no competitive advantage will be given to any business or organization involved in the process. 

Sponsorship naming rights for smaller recreational facilities, such as baseball diamonds and splash pads, are recommended to last three to five years, while the rights for larger facilities are recommended to last five to 10 years.  

Parties interested in naming rights and sponsorship will be required to follow an official bidding process determined by the municipality and must make a minimum bid amount. Assets with an estimated value of under $100,000 will not require a minimum amount. Assets with estimated values of $100,000 to $1 million will require minimum bid of 10 per cent of the asset’s value. For municipal assets with a value of $1,000,001 and higher, a minimum bid of five per cent of the asset value will be required. 

Councillor Alain Mainville asked if preference could be shown for local companies and organizations interested in naming rights. Recreation Coordinator Carol Ann Scott said that is not possible.  

“That’s against provincial and federal law, and free trade agreements with other countries,” remarked Mayor François St-Amour, who was positive about the new policy.  “It’s a very good draft.”

Complex change orders 

A total of $575,757.77 in change orders have been made so far during the construction of the new sports complex in Limoges. According to a report presented to La Nation council on June 13, $44,992.23 remained in the $620,750 contingency and cost escalation budget for the project. As of June 13, the contract amount was $12,990,757.77. The total budget for the complex is $14,549,557. 

Recreation Coordinator Carol Ann Scott expects the project will be completed within the budget. 

The report indicates the most expensive change to the construction of the complex was when council approved a $344,883 upgrade to removable turf and the installation of a cement slab floor in the fieldhouse. The other major change order for $117,900.20 was related to the concrete and structural design for the foundation. 

Scott told council she is hopeful the number of changes lessens as project nears completion.