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The City of Mississauga says Paramount Fine Foods Centre will be renamed because it alleges that the restaurant chain and long-time sponsor has failed to make payments and owes the city $1.6 million.
In a statement Tuesday, the city announced it is ending its eight-year naming rights deal with Paramount Fine Foods, and is temporarily renaming the facility on June 1 to the Mississauga Sports and Entertainment Centre.
“The city unilaterally terminated the contract with Paramount Fine Foods for lack of payment,” the city said in a statement.
“The city’s primary goal is protecting taxpayer dollars,” read the updated statement on Tuesday. “To recoup these costs, the city will be pursuing legal action in the coming weeks. More details will be available at that time.”
The city is also taking over food operations at the facility, the statement said. There are no impacts to scheduled programs, bookings, rentals or events.
The founder and president of Paramount Fine Foods, Mohamad Fakih, posted a video to Instagram on Monday in which he said simply that his company was ending its sponsorship deal with the municipality.
He thanked the City of Mississauga, city workers and facility staff, without mentioning the allegations of non-payment.
“We’ve made the decision to conclude our sponsorship and redirect our community investment toward new initiatives and opportunities across Mississauga,” he said. “Paramount Fine Food has been proud to sponsor this facility and have our name associated with one of Mississauga’s most important community spaces over the years.”
City of Mississauga’s statement ‘misleading’: Fakih
In an updated statement on Instagram Tuesday, Fakih questioned the city’s motivation.
“After investing millions into the Paramount Fine Foods Centre during our partnership with the City of Mississauga over the past many years, I was very disappointed to see the city’s misleading public statement this morning about the end of that partnership,” Fakih said.
“Since buying back control of Paramount last year, I have dedicated myself to ensuring that all of its partners, associates, and suppliers were made whole if anything was owing to them from my time as a minority shareholder.”
Fakih said the company has been “ready and willing” to pay the city back for more than six months.
Paramount Fine Foods founder and president Mohamad Fakih said the company has been “ready and willing” to pay the city back for more than six months. (Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC)
“Our team has been diligently and cooperatively working with staff at the city for many months to finalize a mutually beneficial end to the partnership that ensures the citizens of Mississauga are protected and will not bear any burden in connection to Paramount,” he said.
He said the city has made “an inexplicable decision” to announce a “misrepresentative version of the partnership’s ending” and he said doing so is not acting in good faith while negotiations were continuing.
According to the Mississauga release, the temporary facility name will stay in place until the city finds a new naming partner.
“Residents, tenants, and event organizers should expect business as usual at the facility,” Raj Sheth, commissioner of community services, said in the release. “Programs, rentals, bookings, and events will continue, and our focus is on maintaining a smooth transition as the city moves to the temporary name and assumes food service operations.”
The Paramount Fine Foods Centre is home to a variety of indoor and outdoor facilities designed to host sports, recreational activities and large concerts and events. It is also home to the Toronto Raptors’ NBA G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.