St. Catharines council has officially chosen a new name for the street by the Meridian Centre formerly known as IceDogs Way.
Mayor Walter Sendzik explains why council decided to re-name the street after David S. Howes, a well known local philanthropist and businessman.
"He was instrumental in getting the city to create the feasibility study for the Meridian Centre. So the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, he was a key catalyst for that and he was also one of the biggest supporters of the Meridian Centre being built, so having that road between the two named after David S. Howes - I couldn't think of a more fitting person."
City officials hope to have a ceremony for the name change next month including members of Howes' family.
The name change comes after a naming rights deal with the owners of the popular local hockey team fell through.
Originally the owners had been told they could secure the naming rights in perpetuity in exchange for a one million dollar donation to the arena.
Later on, city staff tried to limit the deal to 20 years and the IceDogs owners decided to invest their donation in other local causes instead.
The city did try to make good on the original promise, but it was already too late.