Universitario de Deportes surprised his fans with good news. The Merengue team announced the name change of their stadium to the Monumental ‘U’ Marathon. The mentioned change is part of a marketing strategy that the cream shop has been evaluating for more than a year, as Daniel Amador pointed out in an interview for La República Deportes. Thanks to this agreement with Marathon, the student cast receives a significant sum of money for sponsorship.
With this commercial alliance, the ‘U’ becomes the first Peruvian football team to use the naming rights technique. This strategy, which consists of granting the naming rights of a venue for a certain period of time, has become popular in recent years. A clear example are the teams around the world who have chosen to put a brand name on their sports venues.
First in Europe
One of the first cases and perhaps the most iconic is this Allianz Arena in Munich. The stadium, which hosted the World Cup in Germany in 2006, bears the name of the insurance company Allianz after an agreement signed between the company and FC Bayern Munich. The alliance, which is valid for 30 years, justifies the payment of 314 million euros to the Bayern club.
Allianz Arena, the stage where FC Bayern Munich plays. Photo: EFE
Another emblematic example is that of the Emirates Stadium, Colossus sponsored by the Emirates airline of the United Arab Emirates. The agreement with the English arsenal, initially 15 years, included the estimated payment of 120 million dollars. Manchester City and another Emirati airline, Etihad, agreed to pay between $12 million and $14 million in exchange for placing the airline’s name in the citizens’ enclosure.
Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City plays at home. Photo: EFE
South America says present
South American teams were no exception when it came to naming rights. One of the pioneers in this part of the world were Argentinos Juniors. El Bicho was the first in Argentina to use this strategy. As if that wasn’t enough, he did it twice. The first time was an agreement with the capital management company Autocrédito and the second time with the online job portal Bumeran.
Likewise, River Plate was another Argentine squad to relinquish the naming rights of their stadium. In April 2022, the millionaire group announced the agreement with the Mâs company. This trade union will be in effect until 2029 and will set the payment of $20 million. Closer to our country we find the Universidad Católica, which has signed a 20-year contract with Claro Chile, a company that will also be responsible for the remodeling of the San Carlos de Apoquindo.