CREDIT: CANOE
Workers put the new Budweiser Gardens signage in place on London's downtown arena. John Labatt Centre is now called Budweiser Gardens.

It has become apparent that many of you are against the name change of the John Labatt Centre to Budweiser Gardens. That being said, I'm concerned that you don't know what you are yelling about.

Seeing public outrage over change is nothing new, but when people are making things up about the name change, that concerns me, so let me sort out the facts.

The name change does not cost City of London taxpayers any money; in fact to name the building the John Labatt Centre for the first 10 years, it cost Labatt Brewing $5 million. The next 10 years it will cost Labatt Brewing $6.4 million to put the name "Budweiser Gardens" on the building. The building itself is owned by the City of London and is operated by Global Spectrum. Of the revenue they make, a certain percentage goes to London; the more money they make, the more money the city can put back into London, and having a raise of $1.4 million for naming rights is fine in my books. Calling the city sell-outs isn't accurate.

When it comes to the message the building name sends, I assume you've read the name several times in my article without stopping to grab a beer, so you probably haven't been influenced by it, and you shouldn't be, just because it's a name of the building. My point is: we need to be giving ourselves more credit when it comes to not being influenced by advertisements on a day-to-day basis. When I walk by the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, it doesn't make me want to fly an airplane, and walking past Budweiser Gardens doesn't make me want grab a beer. It's about brand recognition.

When it comes to the argument that the name change destroys the Labatt family history in London, well, what was the family mostly known for? Making beer. Forty-two per cent of the beer that is brewed in London's Labatt Brewery is Budweiser. This name change isn't much of a stretch to its original name, but I see how people could get attached to something for 10 years, and that sentimental value can get in the way of logic. I choose logic.

In closing, I don't want to discourage people voicing their concerns when it comes to the decisions made in the city — in fact, I would encourage that. My only concern is we don't know why, who or what we are yelling about and I believe the JLC/Bud Gardens name change may put a light on my concern.