Murray Wood: How young is too young to bring kids to sports games
How young is too young to bring children to a stadium? After taking his six-year-old grandson to watch the Riders, Murra...
The Saskatchewan Jazz Festival has taken a major hit after learning its title sponsor, SaskTel, won’t be keeping its name on the annual event.
“It’s certainly a concern,” said executive director Shannon Josdal when asked what the loss of the main sponsor means for the festival.
“Our title sponsorship package is a $150,000 annual package and the dollar value is one thing, but the real thing about a title sponsorship for us is a lot of stability,” she said.
The $150,000 from SaskTel each year helped cover various event operations. Josdal said losing the sponsorship leaves the festival more exposed.
Read more:
- Sask. storm brings intense lightning, hail, tornado threats
- Saskatoon kids flock to park as fire department builds 100-foot slip and slides
- Saskatchewan’s own Nessie? The tale of the Turtle Lake Monster
“When you run an event like we do, we’re very vulnerable and susceptible to a lot of things beyond our control,” she said. “Things like weather events, U.S. currency exchange rates, economic instability – which we’re experiencing a lot of right now. When you have a title sponsor on deck, you know you have that financial support. While dollar value is one thing, it’s the reliability that is really important for an organization like ours.”
Although SaskTel won’t continue as title sponsor, Josdal said they’re working with the company to keep it involved in some capacity.
She noted the festival isn’t alone.
“Title sponsorship is something that’s become a harder and harder situation for organizations, not just here in Saskatchewan, but across the country,” Josdal said. “I believe we’re the 10th jazz festival in about the last two years to lose a title sponsor. This is not something that’s unique to us.”
Finding a replacement is now a top priority.
“We’re basically so focused on it, we’ve got two streams that we’re pursuing. One is to look for a new title sponsor, and the other is we’ve created something called the cornerstone project, which is where we’re seeking sponsors at a more mid-range sponsorship over a three-year term so that sponsorship marketing becomes more available to a wider variety of businesses that might otherwise not do something like a title but still participate as a major sponsor,” she said.
Josdal didn’t provide details on what the festival’s future could look like but said they are working on a rebrand.
“We are hopeful for the future and we are planning to produce a great show in 2026 so we hope people join us,” she said.
