FBD Insurance secure naming rights for Semple Stadium

9 May 2020; A general view of Semple Stadium  Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

FBD Insurance have secured the naming rights to Semple Stadium, the Irish Examiner has learned.

After Tipperary secretary Tim Floyd insisted at the end of 2020 that the sale of the rights has “got to be a priority”, the Irish insurance firm will have their title associated with the venue in what is believed to be a long-term agreement.

FBD Insurance have been backing Tipperary men’s football and hurling championships in the county since 2019 and camogie from last year.

In 2020, Semple Stadium chairperson Con Hogan revealed it costs approximately €500,000 per annum to run the venue.

“The costs of maintaining an old stadium are just enormous,” he remarked. “It is an old stadium and when it had no maintenance this year for six months due to the lockdown it would just shock you how much it deteriorated.” 

The sale of the naming rights was endorsed by Tipperary GAA’s commercial advisor Liam O’Shea in the wide-ranging report he produced for the board executive last year.

Tipperary are still in the process of obtaining jersey sponsors. It was announced in September global CEO consultancy firm Teneo’s three-year association with Tipperary GAA had come to an end and they would assist in helping the county board find their successors.

In recent days, Tipperary’s senior teams played Kerry twice and Limerick once without any sponsor on their kit.

In his report, O’Shea, former Tipp and Clare FM CEO, a brother of ex-senior hurling manager and coach Eamon and himself the team’s previous logistics manager, claimed that the Tipperary brand was “currently undervalued and under promoted”.

He added: “The perfect example of this is our jersey sponsorship, currently at the end of its three-year deal, which has been consistently under-valued given the heritage of the jersey, its international appeal, and the success of the flagship team in the past decade,” he wrote. “There are opportunities to sell multiple sponsorship deals in relation to the jersey and the blue and gold banner.” 

FBD’s naming rights of Semple Stadium are set to be confirmed early next week.