Remember the hysteria last week over Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment’s plan to rename Maple Leaf Square after the Ford Motor Company?

Premature and unfounded, the MLSE says.

While a naming rights deal remains in place for the popular Bremner Blvd. gathering spot for Leafs and Raptors fans, MLSE will announce this morning that it will be branded the “Ford Fan Zone at Maple Leaf Square.”

MLSE’s chief commercial officer says the two companies spent the last year brainstorming names for the re-branded square, but says “Ford Square” was never considered.

“It was always going to have the word ‘fan’ in it,” Hopkinson says. “This is a fan activation. Fans understand this is a place for them.”

The name accommodates Ford’s corporate branding while preserving the Maple Leaf name, and eliminates confusion over whether the city’s biggest sports and entertainment outfit had named some of its property after controversial Mayor Rob and mayoral candidate and Councillor Doug Ford (open Doug Ford's poilcard).

As part of the renewal of their partnership with MLSE, Ford will buy 200 tickets to every Leafs home game and distribute them to Leaf supporters. The agreement lasts the five-year duration of the sponsorship deal and includes playoff games, should the Leafs qualify.

When asked about renaming the meeting place “Ford Square,” marketing experts consulted by the Star last week weren’t impressed.

“You do get awareness but I can’t think of anyone who isn’t already aware that Ford exists and who they are,” wrote Queen’s University marketing professor Ken Wong in an email to the Star.

“If all they want is awareness, they could have it in spades if they gave a Ford vehicle to every charity in Toronto and they’d likely still have money left over versus what they pay to the Leafs.”

Maple Leaf Square’s popularity as a meeting place for fans took off during the Toronto Raptors playoff run last spring, when supporters would congregate outside Gate 5 of the Air Canada Centre and watch games on giant outdoor monitors.

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Raptors fans gathered in such numbers and cheered with such ferocity that the square temporarily earned the nickname Jurassic Park.

Hopkinson says the new Ford Fan Zone will include concerts, contests, giveaways, and other activities aimed at engaging fans who gather in the square.

“This is to develop the halo around the building when the game is on,” he says. “It’s about giving fans outside the building entertainment.”

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