March 1st 2018
MAJOR REPORT HIGHLIGHT POTENTIAL FOR NAMING RIGHTS IN IRELAND
This day four years ago Duff and Phelps highlighted the potential for naming rights in the Irish market. Since then we have seen UPMC take on Nowlan Park, FBD take on Semple Stadium and TUS take on the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick, all on long term deals.
With the pandemic behind us and money starting to flow towards projects like the Showgrounds in Galway and the RDS, it will be interesting to see how right they were…
A major new survey of stadium naming rights has identified the Irish market as “very underdeveloped and nascent” and suggests there is a “huge opportunity for stadiums in Ireland to explore stronger commercial agreements.”
The survey by Duff and Phelps is a refresh on one they did four years ago and shows that the overall value of naming rights in the English Premier League has climbed from €84 Million in 2013 to €152.7 Million in 2017.
The study indicates that if Manchester United were to offer seasonal naming rights to its 75,643-seater Old Trafford stadium, this could generate €29.5m per season, €7.9m more than that of neighbouring Manchester City who play in the Etihad Stadium.
The top six clubs that regularly play in European competitions account for over 77% of the €152.7m potentially attributable to seasonal Premier League naming rights.
The two Manchester Clubs alone generate over 33% and the five London clubs over 40% of the total.
Chelsea FC is in third place with over €20m per season potentially available, and Tottenham Hotspur FC, looking to move into a new stadium next season, might generate over €16m per year.
Despite West Ham sitting mid-table in the Premier League, its new 66,000-capacity Olympic Stadium provides the club with an opportunity to maximise its potential market worth.
With its 52,405 capacity at St James’ Park and dedicated fanbase, Newcastle United ranks in the top half of the table. Leicester City FC, 2016 Premier League winners, have already secured a naming rights deal, with Thai travel and retail business King Power and come in at mid-table in the naming rights league with an estimated annual value of €2.7 Million on the rights.
“This research also showcases the commercial opportunity for sporting organisations in Ireland,” said Niall Cribben, Director, Valuation Advisory with Duff & Phelps in Ireland.
“With a few notable exceptions such as the Aviva Stadium, Cork’s Irish Independent Park and Kingspan Breffni in Cavan, the naming rights for Irish stadiums is a very underdeveloped and nascent market.”
“There is a huge opportunity for stadiums in Ireland to explore stronger commercial agreements with top brands. This will be good for the brands, good for the stadiums and the teams that fill them and ultimately good for fans as stadium experiences will undoubtedly improve.”
Aviva recently signed a five-year extension to the naming rights for the Aviva Stadium in a deal that would put it outside the top six in the Premier League but in the top half of the table.
Suggestions of Croke Park having naming rights sold have continually been pushed back and while the value of those would likely be higher again in a pure market it is difficult to see a change in that in the foreseeable future.
Sport for Business wrote in June 2015 that an agreement in principle had been reached between the RDS and Laya Healthcare over naming rights to a redeveloped RDS Arena. Slower than anticipated progress on that development means no deal has been signed yet but when it does it will give a boost to the concept of stadium naming rights and their value here.
********
February 28th 2020
GIANT-SIZE KELLIE HARRINGTON STARS IN OLYMPIC AD
Kellie Harrington packs a heck of a punch but who knew she could be as strong as this.
Two years ago we were on the edge of a global shutdown but we did not know at the time how serious it would be. The ad for the Olympic Federation of Ireland’s main commercial partner at the time was running on mainstream and we were all looking forward to the Olympics taking part that summer.
Here is what we brought to Sport for Business Readers on this day two years (and what two years) ago today.
As part of its sponsorship of Team Ireland, FBD Insurance has launched a new campaign celebrating Irish sporting heroes at the pinnacle of their Olympic journeys ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
FBD’s new campaign heroes a number of Ireland’s current and aspiring Olympians, Harrington stars alongside FBD Brand Ambassadors and Olympic medal-winning rowers Paul and Gary O’Donovan in the visually compelling film.
Irish hockey player and World Cup Silver Medallist Chloe Watkins, Badminton Player Nhat Nyugen as well as a host of Irish sportspeople across Modern Pentathlon, Cycling, Swimming, Athletics and Gymnastics also star.
FBD Insurance came on board as a principal partner to Team Ireland in September 2018. As part of its sponsorship, FBD is supporting 10 of Team Ireland’s Olympic hopefuls to enable them to focus on personal bests and breakthrough performances at the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
FBD’s campaign will include a Television Ad, supported by digital, social, and in-branch activation as well as outdoor media advertising.
Filmed and produced in Ireland, and directed by Richard Chaney of Piranha Bar in association with creative agency The Public House, the ad features an accompanying track, “Always”, by award-winning singer-songwriter Gavin James.
“Our new campaign is released today in support of our sponsorship of Team Ireland and its athletes at what is a critical yet exciting time in each of their sporting careers,” said Aileen Donoghue, Head of Brand at FBD.
“It is a privilege for us in this Olympic year to be supporting Team Ireland as they look to qualify and perform at the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.”
“We were excited about FBD’s mission to hero our amazing Team Ireland athletes and wanted to help bring this to life through beautiful visuals, showing what real support looks like,” added Colin Hart of Public House.
“We set out to showcase heroic Irish athletes as the giants that they are within their respective disciplines and communities at large. Most importantly we want the public to feel pride as a nation for the people representing us within Team Ireland.”
“We are very fortunate to have FBD’s support as our primary sponsor to help Team Ireland’s athletes on their road to Tokyo,” concluded Olympic Federation of ireland CEO Peter Sherrard.
“The Olympic Games represents the pinnacle of our athletes’ careers. It is fitting that a homegrown brand like FBD is backing the athletes on this journey as they prepare to compete at the Olympic Games.”
