Sports have been a large part of human culture and society for as long as humans have had civilization. Since the first kingdoms were erected, humans have been playing sports en masse.
Events like the original Olympics, gladiatorial combat, chariot racing, etc. dominated the minds and popular culture of the ancient civilizations, and this tradition keeps today. Football draws in billions of people from all over the world. Sports events are held in large stadiums, with a capacity to hold tens and sometimes hundreds of millions of people.
These stadiums are filled annually, with millions of people. For this reason, companies have taken to purchasing the naming rights for stadiums, in an attempt to advertise their brand.
The practice is a pretty interesting attempt at marketing, and thus far seems to have been a rather successful one. In this article, we will take a look at a few stadium sponsors, and the stadium which they have purchased.
Stoke City F.C.’s bet365 Stadium
The Britannia Stadium was built in 1998 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. At the cost of close to 15 million pounds, the stadium is capable of hosting over 30,000 attendants, and has, since its building, functioned as the home field stadium of the Stoke City Football Club. The stadium was opened by Sir Stanley Matthews, whose ashes are now buried beneath the center circle.
In 2016, British gambling company, bet365, entered a sponsorship deal with Stoke City Football Club, which gave them naming rights of the stadium. Soon, the name of the stadium was changed from Britannia to the bet365 Stadium, by which name it is still known today.
Bet365 is a betting and gambling company, based in the United Kingdom. It is one of the most popular online betting companies, and one of the most successful, having won numerous awards and honors in its 22 years of existence.
The company is headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent, which is the most likely reason that they chose the city’s main football club’s stadium as the one to sponsor.
The company provides users and punters with a broad coverage of numerous sports, most notably among which is, of course, football. On top of that, they also offer plenty of casino games, which can be played online through any electronic device.
It is worth noting, however, that due to UEFA regulations on sponsorships, the stadium is referred to as Stoke Ground in European competitions.
American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
In 1998, the Dallas Mavericks announced that they are planning to open a brand new stadium with which they would replace the Reunion Arena. Three years later, in 2001, the American Airlines Center opened its gates.
The multi-purpose venue is located in Victory Park, and serves as home to both the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks, and the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars. On top of that, it also functions as a venue for concerts and other forms of live entertainment.
Apart from the Dallas arena, American Airlines has, in the past, sponsored another stadium, the American Airlines Arena in Miami. However, the naming rights expired in 2019, and the venue’s name was changed to the FTX Arena, by which name it is still known today.
FedExForum/FedExField
FedEx is one of the biggest transportation and e-commerce companies in the United States. They currently sponsor two stadiums in the United States. The FedExForum is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and is home to the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, as well as the college team of the University of Memphis.
It is a multi-purposed arena, capable of holding hockey matches, concerts, and a number of other live performances. The FedExField, on the other hand, is a football stadium located in Maryland. It is home to the Washington Commanders and was previously known as Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.