Fertilizer company Yara Belle Plaine has officially inked a new naming rights agreement with the City of Moose Jaw for the Yara Centre.  

A ceremony for the signing was held on Thursday at the facility.  

The renewed agreement begins Jan. 1, 2023. It is a 10-year agreement worth $500,000, with Yara Belle Plaine paying $50,000 annually. The funds from the agreement will go back into the facility and the programs it offers.  

“We're proud of being part of the Moose Jaw community and the surrounding area. We want to be able to support the areas where our employees and our business partners work and live and this is a great opportunity for us to do so,” said Aaron Bourque, plant manager at Yara Belle Plaine.  

Bourque jokes that most people now associate the name “Yara” with the Yara Centre and not the fertilizer facility.  

The multi-use recreational facility opened in 2011. It includes a 65,000-square-foot indoor turf field, a 365-metre four-lane track and a fully equipped fitness centre.  

Mayor Clive Tolley said the Yara Centre is an integral part of the community.  

“Today, it's howling snow and wind out there and here inside it's a beautiful, climate-controlled space where people can exercise and get together and socialize. I think that's just one more thing about Moose Jaw that's very important to people that may think about moving here,” he explained.  

Yara Belle Plaine has held the naming rights to the Yara Centre since Jan. 1, 2013, when they entered into a 10-year, $500,000 agreement.