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Sony Centre will be renamed Meridian Hall

Sony Centre is getting a new name.

On January 21, Mayor John Tory announced that arts organization Civic Theatres Toronto has struck a $30.75 million, 15-year partnership with Ontario’s largest credit union that will result in Sony Centre for the Performing Arts rebranded as Meridian Hall and the Toronto Centre for the Arts renamed Meridian Arts Centre.

The name changes will take effect on September 15.

Meanwhile, Civic Theatres is also getting a refresh. The city-run organization – which also operates St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts – will now be called TO Live, a name chosen among 900 entries submitted through a national contest. 

“The Civic Theatres Toronto was a nice bureaucratic name but TO Live just gives it life,” president and CEO Clyde Wagner said. “It gives it a little bit of a dynamism and it represents the city.”  

TO Live is also launching the TO Live Foundation, a fundraising arm that will also encourage Torontonians to participate in the arts.

This is the fourth time the 3,191-seat venue located at Yonge and Front has changed names. The building opened as the O’Keefe Centre in 1960, then became the Hummingbird Centre in 1996. In 2007, it was renamed Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. The soft-seater venue hosts a mix of live music, theatre and dance events.

In addition to naming rights, the Meridian partnership also means the company’s branding and content will be integrated into the venues via digital and promotional platforms. A branch will also open up inside Meridian Hall.

Other big Toronto venues to get corporate refreshes recently include Budweiser Stage, Scotiabank Arena and the Exhibition grounds arena Coca-Cola Coliseum.

@mariannalozo

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