As reported this week in the Canmore Leader by Dave Husdal, the new Canmore Multiplex is rising up! It may not be the choice of everyone – that much was clear Tuesday – but Canmore’s under-construction Multiplex has a new name: Elevation Place. The lofty-sounding tag became official when a thinned-out four-member town council voted 3-1 to rename the building. The Multiplex name was never intended to be permanent.
The majority of council backed the Elevation Place name recommendation from town administration, but Councilor Hans Helder wasn’t so thrilled with it, letting go a humorous comment in an unsuccessful attempt to win his colleagues over at Tuesday’s council meeting. “I don’t like the name at all,” Helder said. “The only thing this name conjures up to me is Barry Manilow singing in an elevator.” Helder added that the Elevation Place moniker doesn’t exactly grab his imagination.
While other council members perhaps weren’t singing the name with Manilow’s enthusiasm, they were supportive of it, and the staff recommendation to adopt it. Councilor Joanna McCallum said the name will be something marketing staff can have some fun with to promote the $39 million facility, which is scheduled to open this fall. The building includes everything from a new aquatic centre and library, to a climbing centre and brightly lit community space. McCallum noted it’s very difficult to reach a consensus on building names. McCallum, Deputy Mayor Gordie Miskow and Councilor Jim Ridley all supported the name.
Sally Caudill, the town’s communication co-ordinator, brought the Elevation Place name recommendation to council on behalf of town administration. Caudill explained the recommended name was arrived at through discussions of the sponsorship, marketing and naming group for the complex, and through working with a consultant. She said the group did not want a generic name that included words such as “community centre.”
“The goal was to suggest a name that reflects the facility components as well as the intent and aspirations of the community who will use it,” noted administration’s memo to council. Administration contends Elevation Place works for a facility name because it references the physical geography of Canmore and the components of the building itself, including a climbing centre. Noted administration in its memo to council: “The vision of the facility (to be an inspiring gathering place that enriches the well-being, enjoyment, and aspirations of the community) and the activities that will take place there serve to elevate everyone who enters. “
The name doesn’t prevent sponsorship of the building, and funding that is expected to come along with it. “Because of the timing it takes to move forward with sponsorship, we will not have a facility name sponsor by opening date,” noted administration’s memo. “The sponsorship consultant, Partnership Group _ Sponsorship Specialists™ has encouraged us to move forward with the name and signage that we prefer for the facility. If a sponsorship naming opportunity comes along after we are open, negotiating how the name and signage will be amended can be done at that time.”