[Ammi]

Twickenham will be renamed Allianz Stadium from September in a controversial move said to be worth up to £100 million.

One former England captain told Telegraph Sport the decision to change Twickenham’s name after 125 years raised a number of questions and asked why the name had not been retained in the new name for the stadium.

Reception to the move was decidedly mixed, with fans online criticising the decision to drop Twickenham’s name entirely and others questioning the RFU’s decision to cash-in, with a deal reportedly worth around £10 million over 10 years.

Sports branding experts believe the move will bank the RFU a considerable amount of money, although Telegraph Sport understands other parties were not involved in bids for Twickenham’s naming rights.

“The Scottish Gas [and previously BT] deals with Murrayfield were, for example, estimated to be worth around £5m a year. Taking this and other deals in mind, I would guess that with Twickenham being such an iconic rugby destination and a virgin when it comes to naming rights, that the deal could easily be worth over £7 million a year,” branding expert Marcel Knobil told Telegraph Sport.

The move means rugby’s national stadium will have a new name for the first time in its history, with Allianz also owning the naming rights for stadiums in Munich, Sao Paolo and Sydney.

The RFU described the agreement as “a significant, long-term investment in the game”, with a new Allianz Future Fund enabling community rugby clubs to apply for funding among the new initiatives as part of the investment. Allianz is already the title partner for Premiership Women’s Rugby and official Insurance, Investment and Asset Management Partner of England Rugby.

“We’re really pleased to be expanding our partnership with Allianz, enabling further investment into the community and professional game,” said RFU CEO Bill Sweeney. “This is an opportunity to celebrate our stadium’s proud legacy while developing it for the future. This partnership will support us in moving the game in a direction which serves all rugby, from minis to the elites, from club coaches to our national coaches and everything in between.”

Twickenham is now the last national rugby stadium in the UK and Ireland to be renamed. Wales currently play at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, while Ireland have been at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin since 2010. Murrayfield is now known as ‘Scottish Gas Murrayfield’, having previously been ‘BT Murrayfield’.

While commercial agreements involving those sponsorships remain confidential, the WRU is reportedly being paid £10 million by Principality spread over 10 years. Aviva also reportedly paid €40 million (£34.3 million) to the Irish Rugby Football Union, before extending the deal in 2018 through to 2025.

Stadium naming rights have also become more common in the Gallagher Premiership, with Northampton’s ground known as ‘cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens’ and Leicester playing at ‘Mattioli Woods Welford Road’.

Allianz previously sponsored Saracens’ home ground before cutting ties in the wake of the club’s salary cap scandal, terminating its naming rights and shirt sponsorship deal in 2020, with Barnet Copthall now known as the ‘StoneX Stadium’.


https://uk.yahoo.com/sports/news/rfu...162139531.html

[bots]

Money is all that's important these days

[Beso]

Easy money, and much needed for the grass roots dide of things. The name change wont mean much to any fan as they will always say I'm off to Twickenham for the rugby...you would be a fool to turn a deal like that down.

[Livia]

Do we have anything left that hasn't been sold off.