Corporate event management: Olympic stadia to be named by corporations with biggest bid

Date: 28/12/2011

It is set to be the corporate event of the year, but the London 2012 Olympics could represent another branding opportunity for big businesses.

In a deal which could be worth up to £10 million a year, corporations will be given the opportunity to have some of the stadia which have been built for the event named after them.

The names will be given to the venues once the games have finished, but major sponsors including Coca Cola and McDonalds are thought to have been offered the chance to have their names adopted.

Should the plans go ahead, the Olympic Stadium would receive its new name directly after the closing ceremony of the Paralympics.

It is thought that the venues may play host to corporate conferences and other events in the future, with some talk having been about football clubs taking the stadia on.

Conversion costs for the venues are expected to reach £96 million and such a corporate branding deal is being sought in order to recoup some of that cost.

The Olympic Park Legacy Committee are tasked with the job of establishing a commercial future for the site and making sure it does not go to waste.

In the past, venues which have been created for a specific time, like the Millennium Dome, have spent a certain period of time in limbo, before a decision was made over their fates.

Now the Dome is the O2, it has become incredibly successful, but for a while it appeared the iconic structure may have been left empty.

As well as the high profile Olympic Stadium, the naming rights for the aquatics centre and velodrome will be on offer, representing a good branding opportunity for companies.

Bids will be accepted up until March 23rd, but the decision will not be announced until May and it depends on the final usage of the stadium as to who may wish to put their name to it.

Mike Ashley, who owns Newcastle United, has recently announced plans to rename St James’ Park the Sports Direct Stadium, in a lucrative deal.

Since it is to be used for some events in the Olympic Games it will not be referred to as this during the event.

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