THE idea that the renaming of Twickenham as the Allianz Stadium for a reported £100m over 10 years is such a brilliant business deal by the RFU deserves greater scrutiny.
One of the reasons previous RFU administrations did not take the renaming option is not because it was never considered. Offers were considered, and rejected, on the basis of detailed feasibility studies.
These included canvassing a wide range of existing and potential commercial partners and sponsors, and it led to RFU Board decisions that the potential financial benefit from granting sole naming rights to a single commercial partner would not be as great as the deficit.
The studies indicated that the net negative effect of other commercial partners pulling out or decreasing their involvement with the RFU would outweigh the positives. A significant part of this was based on the close association in the deals they struck with Twickenham as a brand.
The current agreement sees many of the RFU’s commercial partners now having to change their brand association from Twickenham to Allianz. For example, Radisson, who acquired the hotel, which was built as part of the South Stand redevelopment, in April from Marriott, have been branding it as the “London Twickenham Stadium Hotel”.
It is hard to imagine that they, or any of the RFU’s other commercial partners, are bowled over by having to exchange Twickenham for Allianz. As for whether it costs the RFU more commercial revenue than it brings in, time will tell.
