BURST
Naming rights for two historic Vancouver venues are up for grabs.
The Pacific National Exhibition has announced plans to issue a request for proposal seeking a partner interested in naming the Pacific Coliseum and the PNE Agrodome.
The request for proposal will formally open on Jan. 6, 2026 but interested parties can register their interest online now .
The two venues are owned by the city of Vancouver and operated by the PNE, a city-owned non-profit entity. In recent years, the PNE has had its fair share of financial ups and downs, as it battled the pandemic blues during the two-year COVID cancellation of its annual summer fair, and lost its Pacific Coliseum anchor tenant, the Vancouver Giants.
In 2023, the most recent year for which annual reports are available online, the PNE reported pulling in $71.5 million in revenue, a rebound from the previous two pandemic years and an increase over its 2019 earnings of $61 million.
That same year, the PNE reported $16.3 million in facility sales due to bookings at the Coliseum, the Agrodome, and the PNE Forum, an increase over $15.8 million in 2022, and $15.5 million pre-pandemic in 2019.
Currently, the city is building a new open-air amphitheatre to replace the old PNE Amphitheatre, but has come under fire for budget overruns to the tune of $183 million , nearly tripled from the original 2021 estimate of $65 million.
The 10,000-seat concert and event venue is set to open in June, in time to host Vancouver’s FIFA World Cup Fan Festival.
The Coliseum has a capacity of about 17,500 and is now home to the Vancouver Goldeneyes of the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Over the years, it has served as the stage for countless musical acts, touring events, and for figure skating and speedskating during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
The rink also housed the Vancouver Canucks from 1970 to 1995 before the team moved downtown, a period during which the team would lose twice to the New York Rangers in a bid for the Stanley Cup.
Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali has also boxed under its roof, while rockers Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin both performed here in 1968.
The Agrodome has a capacity of about 5,400, and most famously served as a film set for the Soviet arena where Rocky Balboa took on Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. Currently, it houses the Vancouver Goldeneyes team offices.