Lansdowne deal to net over €40m

NO-ONE was willing to talk hard cash but Hibernian Aviva have paid a figure north of e40m to claim the naming rights on the new stadium on Lansdowne Road.

Some estimates even crept past the mid-40s but the common consensus is that the IRFU and FAI did well. Very well. The deal has been signed for 10 years and comes with the option of a five-year extension.

What it means is the last link with the old ground called Lansdowne Road has now been erased. When the futuristic new arena reopens in April of next year it will be officially known as the Aviva Stadium.

“We are very happy with the deal that was put in place,” said Philip Browne, chief executive of the IRFU and chairman of the Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company. “It was always an important element in the funding for the stadium.

“It was very important that we got this deal over the line. We are delighted to have it.”

FAI chief executive John Delaney echoed those words, adding that all parties “would be pleased with their return”.

It is an impressive result for the two sporting bodies given the fact that the economic climate was far more robust two years ago when the process of acquiring naming rights was first addressed. Did the downturn cause hearts to flutter?

“Any deal is difficult until you actually sign the piece of paper and get it over the line,” said Browne. “The business that we are in, in terms of building a stadium, and Aviva’s business, is going to continue regardless of what the economic climate is like.

“The reality is that we were quite happy and quite firm in our convictions that what we had to sell was worth selling.”

Naming rights to Thomond Park were ultimately judged to be off limits but the financial commitment on Lansdowne Road far exceeded that of the Limerick venue and a similar retreat in the face of tradition was simply never an option in this case.

The total bill for the new stadium is e411m. The government has pledged e191 of that sum, with the IRFU and FAI ponying up the remainder. Money talked and Browne added that naming rights were equally essential from a credibility standpoint.

“It is important for a new stadium to have a naming rights partner and to have a serious brand attached to it. If you look at any modern stadiums built in recent years they all have a major partner.”

Not strictly true. The new Wembley Stadium is one obvious exception while New York Yankees officials — marketing masters of the sports world — have gone on record to say that they will not be selling the rights to their new home.

Yesterday’s rebranding won’t sit well with sentimentalists but both Browne and Delaney, while mindful of the past, made no apologies for the break with tradition.

“Lansdowne Road was there for a hundred and whatever amount of years but, as a stadium, it was well past its sell by date,” said the rugby chief.

“We could not host UEFA finals or Heineken finals because that stadium unfortunately just didn’t fit the bill in terms of modern requirements for either spectators or players. The fact that the stadium has been closed for a few years also helped in attracting a naming rights partner.

“It has just become the norm. If there is money available to finance your stadium, building that is the way you go about it. It took two years to do it but today is a good day for us.”

Yesterday’s announcement wraps up a hugely successful week for the two sports after the events at Croke Park last Saturday and Wednesday evening, although the FAI’s financial commitments to the new ground are still a work in progress.

Sales of 10-year premium seats and corporate boxes have yet to be completed but the escape act pulled by Giovanni Trapattoni’s side two days ago won’t have hurt.

“No-one is getting carried away just yet. Obviously, the better the team does, the more interest it creates. It will help Irish football in terms of the general positivity.”