Is the Bell Centre going to change its name anytime soon?

Question

I just noticed a tiny conflict of interest here. The majority owners of the Leafs, the Ontario Moron Penion Plan, bought out Bell Canada a month ago (don't buy into the beavers, kids). Bell has their name all over the Habs' building. Anyone know if there are news of a name change or a sale?

Answer 1

I hope it does.  That company are the biggest traitors in the Corporate world.  Their stock is dirt and they contract everything out to India.  Do Not buy Bell.  They won't even pay a human being to answer the d**n phones for 411

Answer 2

no

Answer 3

I am going to be a teacher next year..  that means I am going to be part owner!  Oh yeha...

dont expect a name change though!

I wont vote on it , if it comes to that :)

Answer 4

No, they won't be. The name Bell Canada will not change just because it has been bought.

Answer 5

The OTPP has been the largest shareholder of BCE since the early 1980s...............and BCE/BellGlobeMedia was a significant owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs after Stavro died.  This little fact didn't stop BCE from paying for Montreal's arena rights

RBC (the Royal Bank of Canada) has ownership stakes in the Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators (with rival BNS holding the arena rights) and the Montreal Canadiens..............yet they chose to put their name on the Hurricane's building (due in part to their purchase of Centura Bank a couple of years prior).

Similarly, the Flyers play in Wachovia Centre (not Comcast's official bank) yet Wachovia has a financial stake in two other teams.

Answer 6

Bell has a contract for naming rights of the building, but is not involved in the team. For appearance sake, it looks like a conflict of interest but I'm sure they could prove otherwise if needed. I would not anticipate a name change until the current contract expires, however long that might be. Even then, who knows?

I don't know if I'd be too quick to slap a "Moron" tag to the people in charge of the teacher's fund. While they are not that big in terms of membership, they are #2 (for pension funds) in the world in dollar value with assets near $100 billion. Their investments generally net 15 - 20% annually, which means it doubles every 5 years or so. Not bad for a bunch of Morons.