Vancouver Naming Rights & Sponsorship: Building a Sustainable Non-Tax Revenue Strategy

Vancouver is rethinking how it pays for the infrastructure and services residents expect. Inflation, an aging asset base and past double-digit property tax increases have highlighted the limits of relying primarily on the tax roll. In that context, non-tax revenue is no longer a sidebar to the budget conversation; it is becoming central to the city’s long-term financial strategy.

Naming rights and sponsorship now sit at the heart of that shift. Mayor Ken Sim has been clear that these tools are part of the solution to closing funding gaps without repeatedly turning to taxpayers. He has described “money sitting on the table” in the form of naming opportunities for parks, civic buildings and other assets, and has asked staff – through the Mayor’s Budget Task Force and subsequent directives – to pursue sponsorship and naming rights as a meaningful source of non-tax revenue rather than an opportunistic add-on.

The message is not that branding will fix every fiscal challenge. It is that properly structured partnerships can play a material role in funding public priorities, if Vancouver is deliberate about how it designs and manages them.

From ad hoc sponsorships to a citywide framework

Only a few years ago, city sponsorships were largely handled one event at a time. Departments would secure support for specific festivals, exhibitions or civic campaigns, each with its own terms and recognition. While those arrangements provided useful funding, they did not add up to a coherent revenue strategy.

That is now changing. Council has adopted a consolidated Sponsorship and Sponsorship Naming Rights Policy to guide how the city identifies opportunities, evaluates partners and structures agreements. The policy’s objective is straightforward: optimise non-tax revenue and value-in-kind benefits in support of facilities, infrastructure, programs and services, while ensuring that all partnerships align with the city’s values, image and goals.

The policy applies to a broad set of “City Assets” – including events, programs, services, facilities and real property – but also sets careful limits. Certain civic symbols, such as City Hall and the Vancouver Public Library, are excluded from sponsorship naming rights. Policing assets and general naming of streets and parks are similarly carved out. The result is a clear signal to residents: not everything is up for sale, and the city is conscious of where corporate naming is, and is not, appropriate.

The Vancouver Park Board has moved in parallel, adopting its own sponsorship and naming rights policy that aligns with the city’s approach while reflecting the distinct role parks and recreation play in civic life. Together, these frameworks are now being operationalised through the City of Vancouver Partnership Program, which provides a single front door for potential sponsors and a consistent approach across business units.

Public sentiment: support with conditions

Vancouver’s direction is grounded in research rather than assumption. Prior work on sponsorship policy drew on national surveys and local engagement and reached a clear conclusion: residents are open to corporate involvement when it delivers public benefit and is governed by clear rules.

National polling cited by the city has found that a strong majority of respondents believe companies should be able to sponsor public spaces, and that sponsorship is an acceptable way to offset municipal costs. At the same time, most respondents do not want sponsorship to translate into preferential treatment for the sponsor beyond what is explicitly agreed. Locally, Talk Vancouver engagement has shown similar views: people are prepared to accept sponsorship as a practical funding tool, provided the city safeguards integrity, transparency and independence.

Those findings matter for two reasons. First, they provide political and social licence for the city to scale up its efforts, including naming rights. Second, they underline how important it is to demonstrate that sponsorships are being managed in the public interest. The new policies, with their emphasis on formal criteria, approval processes and reporting, are a direct response to that expectation.

Why naming rights and sponsorship now matter strategically

Several forces are pushing naming rights and sponsorship from the periphery of civic finance into the core.

Structural financial pressures: Recent budgets have had to grapple with compounding cost drivers – from wage settlements and construction inflation to climate resilience and renewal of key facilities. In that environment, relying principally on property tax has proven both politically and economically challenging. The Mayor’s Budget Task Force and staff revenue strategies have therefore treated sponsorship, advertising, naming rights and donations as essential elements in diversifying income streams.

Scale and diversity of assets: Vancouver’s portfolio is extensive: hundreds of buildings, more than 250 parks, and a broad range of indoor and outdoor facilities, events and digital platforms. Not all of these are suitable for naming rights, and some are deliberately excluded under current policy. But even a curated set of community centres, arenas, theatres, plazas, online channels and major events offers significant scope for long-term sponsorships. Properly packaged across different asset classes and durations, these opportunities can generate recurring revenue rather than one-off windfalls.

More mature governance: Compared with the earlier, fragmented approach, the current framework is far more structured. Sponsorship and naming rights agreements must deliver proportional value for the city; they must not compromise regulatory impartiality; and they must include termination provisions if a sponsor’s conduct or circumstances conflict with city values or community standards. There are clear delegations for who can approve which types of deals, and naming rights agreements themselves remain subject to council or Park Board decision.

These elements collectively move Vancouver much closer to the sponsorship practices seen in other large Canadian cities, where naming rights and partnerships are treated as a defined business line rather than sporadic marketing transactions.

Making the program durable: key design choices

With policy in place, the emphasis is shifting to execution. Three areas will largely determine whether Vancouver’s naming rights and sponsorship program becomes a stable, trusted revenue pillar.

Clear boundaries and communication

The city has already drawn important lines around which assets are in scope and which are not. Maintaining those boundaries – and explaining them in straightforward terms – will be critical. Residents tend to view sponsorship of a new aquatics centre or theatre differently than renaming an iconic park or central institution. Being transparent about why some assets are available for naming rights, while others are intentionally preserved, will help manage perceptions and reduce concerns about over-commercialization.

Financial discipline and defensible valuation

As the program matures, questions around value will become more prominent: are agreements priced fairly, and is the city realising the full potential of its assets without over-promising to sponsors? That requires a consistent, evidence-based approach to valuation.

For city and Park Board assets, this typically involves assessing audience size and profile, visibility, media exposure, category exclusivity, and the scope of recognition and activation rights. Benchmarking against comparable Canadian deals is an important input, but not a substitute for understanding Vancouver’s specific market dynamics and brand.

A structured valuation methodology does more than support negotiations. It helps demonstrate to residents that naming rights are being sold at fair market value, and reassures corporate partners that their investment is grounded in a credible business case. Vancouver’s decision to work with specialized sponsorship advisers reflects this need for focused market insight and transaction experience, while still keeping policy control firmly within the public sector.

Alignment with Vancouver’s values

Both the city and Park Board have been explicit that sponsorships must reflect Vancouver’s values, including commitments to sustainability, Reconciliation, diversity, equity and inclusion, and human rights. Certain sponsor categories are excluded outright; others require careful consideration of reputation, practices and community fit.

In practice, this means that potential partners will be assessed not only on financial contribution, but also on how well their brand, behaviour and long-term intentions align with the city’s own priorities. Over time, the most resilient partnerships are likely to be those where commercial objectives and civic outcomes reinforce one another – for example, agreements that combine naming rights with investments in local programming, accessibility, environmental performance or cultural initiatives.

Implications for partners – and the path ahead for Vancouver

For corporations, institutions and other prospective sponsors, the shift in Vancouver’s approach creates a more structured environment. Instead of isolated requests, there is now a defined Partnership Program with clear guidelines, consistent processes and a long-term view of how city assets can be leveraged.

Partners can expect multi-year agreements, deliberate alignment with brand and community objectives, and a more disciplined sales and negotiation process. In return, they gain access to high-profile civic platforms, meaningful engagement with residents and a tangible role in supporting public infrastructure and services.

For the city, the priority now is disciplined implementation: completing and maintaining a comprehensive inventory of sponsorable assets, sequencing opportunities to avoid audience fatigue, engaging residents at key decision points, and reporting transparently on revenues and the programs they fund.

If Vancouver maintains that course, Vancouver Naming Rights & Sponsorship will become more than a budget line. It will function as a structured, values-aligned revenue stream that helps renew infrastructure, moderates pressure on property taxes and strengthens the city’s ability to invest in the parks, facilities and services that define quality of life for residents.