Major sports facility renamed in Mississauga; city alleges lack of payment

Mississauga’s main multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex has a new name after the city terminated its naming rights agreement with its previous partner due to an alleged lack of payment, city officials said on Tuesday.

As of next Monday, the facility will no longer be called the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, the City of Mississauga said in a news release this morning.

After nearly eight years carrying that name, the sports/entertainment complex located in the city’s east end will be known temporarily as the Mississauga Sports and Entertainment Centre, effective June 1, until a new naming partner is found, the city added.

Allegations of non-payment have not yet been tested in court and on Tuesday afternoon the CEO of Paramount Fine Foods, the city’s former partner in the deal, claimed the city issued “a misleading public statement.”

City officials noted that, moving forward, there will be no impact to existing bookings, programs, rentals or scheduled events at the complex.

“Residents, tenants and event organizers should expect business as usual at the facility,” Raj Sheth, the city’s commissioner of community services, said. “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.”

Deal was first signed in 2018

The initial pact signed in 2018 between the city, which owns the sports/entertainment facility, and the Mississauga-based restaurant chain (Paramount Fine Foods) was for 10 years and changed the name from the Hershey Centre as it had been known since opening in 1998.

The city said on Tuesday it’s now ending its naming rights and concession agreement with Paramount Fine Foods and will take over food operations at the facility.

“The city unilaterally terminated the contract with Paramount Fine Foods for lack of payment and is in the process of considering its legal options for remedy,” city officials said in the news release, adding they’re “working directly with tenants, sports organizations, partners and event organizers to ensure a seamless transition.”

The city provided more details related to the matter on Tuesday afternoon, claiming in an updated release that Paramount Fine Foods “failed to pay the City of Mississauga what it was owed over a prolonged period of time as per the contract terms. The city tried its best to work with Paramount, but was unable to reach a resolution and receive payment.”

The City of Mississauga claims it’s owed $1.6 million and adds it will be “pursuing legal action in the coming weeks.”

In a statement to INsauga.com early Tuesday afternoon, Mohamad Fakih, founder and CEO of Paramount Fine Foods, said the company has acted in “good faith” to resolve the matter.

“I am disappointed that the City of Mississauga chose to issue a misleading public statement rather than complete the mutual termination agreement we had negotiated,” the email statement reads. “Paramount Fine Foods has been ready and willing to pay for nearly six months. That has never been in question. We made several serious, good-faith efforts to resolve this matter responsibly in the interest of protecting Mississauga taxpayers. The timing and manner of this statement, made without notice, mid-negotiation, and in breach of confidentiality, raises serious questions about city council’s motivations. These are not the actions of a party acting in good faith.”

In an earlier post to social media platform X, Fakih thanked “the residents of Mississauga, the City of Mississauga and the incredible staff who have helped make this facility such a success over the years.”

In a video statement in his post, Fakih continued, saying “like every sponsorship, there comes a time when one chapter ends and another one begins. After more than a decade, we’ve made the decision to conclude our sponsorship and redirect our community investment toward new initiatives and opportunities” across Mississauga.

“While our name may no longer be on this building, our commitment to Mississauga remains unchanged,” he said near the end of the video, which is about two-and-a-half minutes in length.

All bookings will continue as planned, city says

The city, meanwhile, said all bookings will continue as planned, “and tickets that reference Paramount Fine Foods Centre will be honoured. During the transition period, both the former and new facility names may appear in communications, listings and customer materials. Visitors and guests should continue to follow existing directions, parking and accessibility information.”

The city’s priority, officials added, “is to minimize disruption while ensuring a high-quality experience for all visitors and guests.”

The newly renamed Mississauga Sports and Entertainment Centre features a wide range of indoor and outdoor facilities designed to support sports, recreation and large events, the city said. Facilities include an indoor main spectator arena used for sports, concerts and major events, and which serves as the home of the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League, the official affiliate of the Toronto Raptors.

The venue also served as home of the Ontario Hockey League’s former club, Mississauga Steelheads, prior to that franchise moving north to Brampton in 2024.

The centre also includes three additional ice rinks for hockey and skating, a full-size indoor artificial turf field that can be configured into multiple field sizes and a triple gymnasium for sports such as basketball and volleyball, as well as a gymnastics centre and fitness centre.

City amended its deal with Paramount in 2024 

After the city and Paramount Fine Foods signed the initial 10-year naming rights deal in 2018, they revisited the agreement in early 2024, which led to an amended pact.

Under the reworked deal, which was struck to provide a measure of financial relief to Paramount, the city told INsauga.com at the time, the name was to remain in place through 2032.

The four-year extension was part of a city council-approved amended naming rights agreement that also reworked Paramount’s payment schedule to the city, a senior city staff member said in 2024.

Impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic that struck in 2020 and over the next couple of years hurt many Mississauga businesses, Paramount Fine Foods sought help from the city in order to continue meeting its financial obligations under the naming rights deal, the city said earlier.

Pandemic impacted multiple businesses in Mississauga

“Paramount Fine Foods, along with a number of city tenants and partners, negotiated a council-approved adjustment to its agreement due to pandemic impacts on its business and the city’s facilities,” the city said in an email to INsauga.com in early 2024, noting specific details of the deal were confidential.

Other city tenants/partners in need of similar altered arrangements with the city at that time also received a measure of relief, the city said, noting “some tenants have had rent relief and payment schedules adjusted as a result of the pandemic.”

Paramount Fine Foods, a Middle Eastern restaurant chain, was founded in 2006 in Mississauga by Fakih, who started the business with the purchase of a shawarma shop.