Toronto's Maple Leaf Square will be rechristened the Ford Square, but the new name will have nothing to do with the city’s mayor.
The large public plaza, located outside of the Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto, will be renamed after the automobile company, Ford Canada.
The rebranding is part of a new five-year sponsorship deal with the automaker, senior director of communications for the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Dave Haggith, confirmed to CTVNews.ca in an email Thursday morning.
Haggith said an official announcement about the square's new name will be made next week, and that it will be made "clear" that it has nothing to do with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.
The new name has already irked a few people, many of them noting on social media that it's a terrible idea.
I will NEVER call it by the new name #MapleLeafSquare always. People will undoubtedly associate the new name with you know who #baddecison
— Sharon Ramsahai (@scorpio70soul) September 25, 2014
@AirCanadaCentre #MapleLeafSquare is being renamed to #FordSquare ... #WorstIdeaEver @FordCanada @MapleLeafs @Raptors #JurrasicPark
— mark 'dub' (@youvebeendubd) September 25, 2014
Nobody likes "Ford Square" & you know what the world will think. Keep the name #MapleLeafSquare #TMLtalk #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/Fdkz4ZXrNO
— Jamie TML (@LeafsNationFan) September 25, 2014
The square has been used in the past as a gathering place for sports fans to watch games.
