Taxpayers spent over a quarter of a million dollars to negotiate the naming rights of BC Place before an about-face by the provincial government ultimately scuttled the deal, according to new numbers.

Most of the money was spent on legal fees to work out the kinks of the deal that would see Telus pay $40 million over 20 years for the right to call BC. Place Telus Park, said NDP MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert, who obtained the figures.

"We all know lawyers are expensive," Chandra Herbert said. "But you don't engage them unless you plan on following through with a deal."

The purchase of the naming rights was viewed by many as a done deal by March. The idea was that the sponsorship money would help offset the $563-million new roof for the stadium.

Though a formal contract had yet to be signed, Telus had purchased large signs and completed work on electronics that are currently in BC Place.

But the provincial government stopped the deal, saying that they preferred to keep the current name.The minister did not return CTV calls, though B.C. Pavilion Corporation chairman David Podmore told CTV News he thought the cost was just the cost of doing business.

The total cost outlined in a letter from Pat Bell to Chandra Herbert is $263,000. The cost consisted of $1,000 on a marketing consultation, $51,000 on a naming rights review, and $211,000 on legal fees.

"$263,000 is a lot of money," Chandra Herbert said. It could go into health care, it could pay down the debt."

The government is left with little to show for it, he added.

"It was a complete botch for two years of work," Chanda Herbert said.

Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said that the revelations of the extra fees added insult to injury.

"This is kind of a poke in the eye after a kick in the teeth," he said.

Bateman said that the deal was comparable to other naming rights sales in stadiums that held bigger sports franchises, such as NHL or NFL teams. BC Place is currently the home of the Whitecaps and the BC Lions.

"The money made sense, the deal should have been done, but the bottom line is they chickened out and taxpayers are on the hook for it," he said.