Chatham-Kent is set to bring advertising and sponsorship sales for its recreation facilities in-house, ending its reliance on a third-party contractor for arena ads.
A report from Robert Pollock, director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities, recommends council approve amendments to the municipality’s user fee bylaw to reflect a new set of advertising rates for its 10 arenas, two indoor pools and seven outdoor pools.
The municipality had raised concerns in 2023 that its third-party advertising provider was not maximizing advertising opportunities in its facilities or maintaining enough visibility in the community to attract interested businesses. Council asked staff at the time to look into bringing the service in-house.
A follow-up report in September 2025 outlined options for handling arena advertising internally, and a business case to hire a staff member to manage advertising and sponsorship was approved during the 2026 budget deliberations. The municipality’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan, approved in December 2026, also recommended creating a position to grow recreation revenues through sponsorships, advertising, grants and community funding partnerships.
According to the report, staff completed a scan of advertising rates and practices in comparable municipalities to develop a new fee structure covering items such as ice resurfacers, rink boards, in-ice advertising, signage and field banners, along with new opportunities across sport fields, pools, courts, parks, municipal programs and transit. Rink board pricing will vary depending on whether an arena operates on a standard seasonal schedule of about 36 weeks or more, and a 10 per cent discount will be offered for rink board commitments of at least three years.
The report says all recreation advertising assets will need to be produced through an approved vendor going forward, with third-party production outside that process no longer permitted.
Under the municipality’s delegated authority bylaw, advertising agreements worth up to $50,000 can be approved by a member of the Executive Management Team and the clerk, subject to legal review, while agreements exceeding that amount or lasting more than five years would go to council for approval.
The municipality had historically received $46,000 annually through its agreement with the third-party contractor. The report projects net revenues of about $104,155 for the 2026-2027 ice season under the new model, based on an assumed 60 per cent sell-through rate for new rink board inventory, not including additional revenue from signage, ice resurfacers or digital advertising opportunities.
The report will be before Council on Monday, July 27, 2026.
