Cork GAA is expected to confirm today that a new naming rights package for Pairc Uí Chaoimh has been signed off that will generate up to €1 million in revenue over the course of the next three years.
The new name is expected to SuperValu Páirc with the retailer leading the way but with additional rights wrapped up for Pepsico, Boston Scientific, and StatKraft all of whom have a strong presence in Cork.
SuperValu are the existing ten year sponsors of the Cork Ladies football team while Sports direct are invested in the GAA through the Men’s Football, Hurling and a number of Club teams. Keary’s Motor Group sponsor the senior Camogie team.
The stadium was first opened in 1976 and rebuilt to the modern stadium it is today in 2017.
The debt from that rebuild has been something of a millstone for the County Board and the GAA which stepped in to assist.
The money from this naming rights deal would effectively cover the cost of that for its duration and establish a stronger financial foundation across the County’s Gaelic Games activities.
Over half of County Boards have naming rights deals on their County Grounds though the greater noise around this one is arising from the potential dropping of the name of Padraig Ó Caoimh, an Irish patriot from the time of Independence, and the second Secretary or Director General of the GAA who served in the role from 1929 to 1964.
Most others have retained the names of stadia if named after individuals, such as is the case at UPMC Nowlan Park, Kingspan Breffni Stadium and Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
Ironically the colloquial way to which the stadium is often referred in Cork is “The Park”.
From a sponsorship point of view there is obviously a greater value in having the name embedded. Consider the difference it would have made had the Aviva Stadium been the Aviva Lansdowne Road Stadium.
At the time that deal was announced there was a strong resistance albeit on less solid historic grounds with Lansdowne being named after its location and ultimately after an English Minister.
Each of the companies believed to be part of the deal have strong roots in Cork which will help in terms of acceptance of the new name.
It will be interesting to see whether media buy into it. There was initial resistance from some insisting on calling the Aviva Stadium by its old name but that passed in relatively short time.
Having €1 million to spend on games development rather than debt servicing will strengthen the cork County Board and having stronger connections to the local business community will also have spin off benefits.
Remembering Padraig Ó’Chaoimh could always be done by naming one of the stands, as is the case with Michael Hogan remembered in Croke Park with the stand but not on any other GAA infrastructure of note.
It is the memory rather than the concrete that matters most, and could also allow for other Cork personalities of historic importance to be remembered.
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