Partnerships are essential to keep ticket prices where they are, Evenko’s Nick Farkas said.
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So, what do you think of the Beanfield Theatre? I know … Bean-what?
Yes, Montreal has a new theatre that is actually an old theatre. The Beanfield has been around for over a century, though you may know it by its former name, the Corona Theatre, which it had gone by since 1923, or for exactly 100 years until it became a field of beans in June.
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Constructed in 1912 as a silent film theatre, the building was known as the Family Theatre for its first decade of operations, when it was sold to United Amusements Corporation.
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The venue went through multiple incarnations, even serving as storage at one point before being taken over by a non-profit organization and reopening for concerts and cultural events in 1997. It was bought by Virgin Mobile in partnership with Evenko in 2012, and was known as the Virgin Mobile Corona for a few years before reverting to ye olde Corona.
And now it’s the Beanfield, though you’re forgiven for not knowing that. It can be hard to keep up, as many of Montreal’s venues seem to change their names according to the season.
Another storied Montreal concert hall, Metropolis, became MTelus in 2017. The intimate L’Astral became Le Studio TD in 2022. Turn back the clock a little further and the Molson Centre, which opened in 1996, became the Bell Centre in 2002.
“I know Metropolis is a great name, Corona is a great name, but times change and evolve,” said Nick Farkas, senior vice-president of concerts and events at promoter Evenko, which runs the above-noted concert halls. Evenko is owned by Le Groupe CH, which also owns the Bell Centre.
“People might miss the name, but it’s the reality of business in 2023-24,” Farkas noted.
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Beanfield is a Toronto-based telecom company. As part of its partnership with Evenko, it’s contributing funds that allow for much needed work to be done on the building. Despite the name change, the venue’s historic Corona neon sign will remain. It has even been refurbished, which can lead to some confusion as both names appear on the front of the theatre. The Corona name can also be found on the tiled floor when you enter the building.
The area between the bar and the front of house has been turned into two levels, offering better views. There is word of updating the green room and backstage areas, while respecting strict heritage regulations. And given its titular sponsor’s expertise, the Beanfield is now wired with high-speed fibre internet.
“(The deal) allows us the opportunity to do things that maybe we would have done over time, but it allows us to push them to the top of the list,” Farkas said. “You don’t see a lot of buildings (with names like) the Montreal Forum anymore. Naming rights on venues of all sizes have become super important over the last 10 years. When you’re trying to compete internationally and bring international artists to the city, you’ve got to try to find revenue.
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“When you have a (Canadian) dollar that’s worth what it’s worth, it’s not great. Add high taxes and (competition from) the rest of America, and you need to maximize the revenue within, to make sure you can continue to operate.”
Which is understandable, but doesn’t make it any easier to start saying Beanfield instead of Corona, or MTelus instead of Metropolis. For the nostalgic among us, it can feel like a matter of principle.
Farkas gets it. He comes from a punk rock background, “where there was no sponsorship,” he said. So he understands the anti-corporate, DIY ethos. But he also knows the modern realities of the music business.
“From the punk rock days early on to where we are now, there has been a complete, 100 per cent shift in everything,” Farkas explained.
He points to Evenko’s festivals, including Osheaga, where “partnership has become such an important piece to keep ticket prices where they are, and offer the kind of festival we want to.”
That said, consistency is important. Naming rights for venues are generally multi-year contracts, Farkas explained. Telus’s partnership for MTelus comes up in 2026, and Beanfield’s lasts until June, 2027. Farkas hopes the companies will stick around.
“We don’t want to change names every few years,” he said. “Ideally, they’ll stay with us, and as long as we’re around, they are. Corona didn’t have a title partner for a long time — there just wasn’t the right fit out there. Then these guys came along and, wow, they’re really cool, so we did the deal. We still have a 100-plus-year-old theatre; it’s still the same place.
“Telus is a great partner for Metropolis; they’re in it for the long haul. They want their name to be on a place that’s great. And we want the place to be great. We want to bring as many bands to the city as people want to see. And this allows us to do that.”
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