Munster Rugby was celebrating off the field last night after landing a new naming sponsor for what will be known as Irish Independent Park in Cork.
The partnership will come into effect with the reopening of the redeveloped stadium in the 2014/2015 season and replace the current title of Musgrave Park.
In a bold statement of confidence in the strong future of provincial rugby, and the future of mainstream media, the deal is one which will run for ten years.
There will be extensive branding on the stadium and directional signage as well as in programmes and publicity material. It is early stages yet and Munster’s Commercial Director Enda Lynch told Sport for Business yesterday that ideas are being developed for how the deal will be activated in Cork and the wider Munster region.
“Munster Rugby is delighted that Independent News & Media have committed to such a significant, long term partnership,” said Garrett Fitzgerald, Munster Rugby CEO.
“The naming of Irish Independent Park allows us to progress on our redevelopment of the grounds and commit to our rugby future here. Cork is a vital element of Munster Rugby’s success and we are happy that Irish Independent Park will be central to rugby development in the region.”
“Independent News and Media is delighted to confirm this new agreement with Munster Rugby and the renaming of Musgrave Park to Irish Independent Park,” added Leslie Buckley, Chairman of Independent News & Media.
“This is hallowed ground for Munster Rugby and particularly for Cork supporters. The Irish Independent has a strong affinity with Munster Rugby, which is underpinned by our weekly rugby pull out exclusively for our Munster readers. We now look forward to positively and successfully building upon that relationship.”
The Irish Independent is into the second year of a relationship as Official Newspaper to the province, similar to the deal signed recently with the FAI.
In a media world where the balance of content between traditional papers, online and video is becoming increasingly more mixed, it is likely that these developments will produce mainstream content that will reveal more of the inside story behind the big sporting events. We write elsewhere today about the demand for intelligent sporting commentary and it may be that this will become part of a new model involving some level of premium subscription in time.
“Irish Independent Park is a further demonstration of our continued support in helping to encourage and build the game of rugby in schools, clubs and at provincial level,” said Vincent Crowley, CEO of Independent News and Media.
Opened in 1940 Musgrave Park is the Cork home to Munster Rugby. Its tenant clubs are Dolphin and Sunday’s Well. It has hosted some famous matches including a draw against the All Blacks in 1973 and most notably in 1992 when Munster beat reigning world champions Australia, one of three Munster victories over the Wallabies.
