...Naming relationships have become common for financial services companies, said Bob Stellick of Toronto's Stellick Marketing Communications Inc., because banking relationships are based on trust, and putting your name on a large, prominent piece of real estate suggests that you can be trusted with money.

"In the old days, the banks were in prime pieces of real estate with impressive looking buildings . . ." he said. "It's a massive piece of substance that makes people feel secure in that institution."

Mr. Stellick said the challenge for any company assuming naming rights is that it can take a period of time for the public to use the new name, and noted it is unusual for a company to use "garden" in the name, instead of the increasingly common "center." He said the danger for TD Banknorth is that customers will refer to the venue simply as The Garden.