Sport stadium naming rights are controversial at the best of times \u2013 so why do corporates pay so much for them? And what are the risks?<\/p>\n Optus bought the ten-year rights from the Western Australian government in 2017 for a reported A$50 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s public relations disaster stands in stark contrast to the company\u2019s optimistic announcement<\/a> that year, celebrating \u201ca combination of mobile network expansion, coupled with game-changing entertainment experiences for events at the new Optus Stadium\u201d.<\/p>\n Instead, the arrangement has become a focus<\/a> of consumer anger towards the company, with the sport site suffering collateral damage.<\/p>\n The game has indeed changed, but not in the desired direction.<\/p>\n From the outset, Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas objected<\/a> to the erasure of Perth from the stadium\u2019s title.<\/p>\n Instead of anchoring the stadium to place for global marketing purposes, he argued, it could be anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n Optus\u2019s troubles this week gave him a free kick<\/a> on X (formerly Twitter), where he said:<\/p>\n The Optus Stadium naming rights arrangement never looks good on days like this. Bad decision any day \u2013 terrible look today.<\/p>\n Given the risks of such associations, why are businesses attracted to having their names and logos mounted on sports infrastructure?<\/p>\n Ever since sport and media<\/a> converged, corporate brands joined the party.<\/p>\n It should be a fairly straightforward exchange \u2013 sport receives money and kudos, sponsors get profile and assumed good will. This is why companies advertise on sport clothing and equipment.<\/p>\n Stadium naming rights, though, make brands even more prominent by imprinting themselves on the cathedrals of sport.<\/p>\n But in the middle of a corporate crisis, reputations can be reduced to rubble.<\/p>\n Sydney\u2019s newly rebuilt Commbank Stadium<\/a> was hardly the best advertisement for rugby league in Parramatta during the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n Self-inflicted brand casualty Qantas<\/a> previously had naming rights over the Sydney Entertainment Centre, which was known as the Qantas Credit Union Arena<\/a>. Once home of the Sydney Kings and Sydney Uni Flames basketball teams, the venue was eventually demolished.<\/p>\n After its recent PR disasters, it seems unlikely Qantas would be rushing to get its name all over big venues again. It could, as in the Optus case, end up serving as a costly, flashing focal point for consumer rage.<\/p>\n Some analysts have argued<\/a> acquiring sport stadium naming rights is a sign of corporate indulgence, frequently indicating a company is in decline.<\/p>\n Others have called it the \u201cstadium curse<\/a>\u201d or \u201cstadium jinx<\/a>\u201d, whereby stadium naming rights are mysteriously associated with corporate peril, even collapse.<\/p>\n Yet, despite these anxieties, sport stadia have no lack of big-time suitors in pursuit of prestige signage. Entry to this club takes a lot of capital<\/a>, which is why banks, insurance companies, car manufacturers, hoteliers, communication conglomerates, entertainment companies and airlines predominate.<\/p>\n The likes of Melbourne\u2019s AAMI Park and Kia Arena, or Brisbane\u2019s Suncorp Stadium, are conspicuous examples of the corporate love affair with sporting real estate.<\/p>\n Smaller venues like PointsBet Stadium (Cronulla) and BlueBet Stadium (Penrith) are named after sport gambling companies, especially in association with rugby league<\/a>. Here, physical spaces are used to attract customers to \u201cpunt\u201d online.<\/p>\n This gamblification of sport<\/a> is unpopular among citizens and politicians<\/a> who are troubled by the cultivation of children and the malign social impact on vulnerable adults.<\/p>\n Traditionalist fans also resent<\/a> the names of their hallowed stadium being hawked around the marketplace and switched with the latest contract.<\/p>\n Confusingly, Melbourne\u2019s Disney-themed Marvel Stadium has also been known as Colonial Stadium, Telstra Dome and Etihad Stadium in the last two decades.<\/p>\n For this reason, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Adelaide Oval and the Sydney Cricket Ground have all resisted commercial naming rights.<\/p>\n Accor Stadium in Sydney is still often called Stadium Australia by the historically inclined and ABC broadcasters concerned about their editorial independence and integrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stadium naming is a conspicuous means of marking sports territory, but fans may even feel an aversion to a rival team\u2019s sponsor in the highly partisan world of sport.<\/p>\n Marketing scholars have developed the concept of oppositional loyalty<\/a> to capture this antagonism of sport fans to the products and services associated with \u201cthe enemy\u201d.<\/p>\n So branding a home stadium might turn both diehard fans and their fiercest opponents off the company paying so much for the naming rights.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, the association of sports, sponsors and grand buildings has enduring appeal.<\/p>\n The Sydney Opera House may not be a sport stadium as such, but it does host sport events<\/a>.<\/p>\n Its famous sails are coveted by many sports, especially horse racing, to the chagrin<\/a> of those who protest \u201cour house is not for sale\u201d.<\/p>\n On the other side of the continent, Optus Stadium would likely just settle for a full house with a functioning communications network. This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 David Rowe 2023<\/strong> Looming over the Swan River in Perth, a shiny sporting structure boldly declares \u201cOPTUS STADIUM Yes\u201d. After the disastrously prolonged communication outage this week, many will have shouted \u201cNo\u201d, or other words requiring asterisks in respectable media. Sport stadium naming rights are controversial at the best of times \u2013 so why do corporates pay so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[183,178,179,180,181,182],"class_list":["post-4757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-okategoriserade","tag-australlia","tag-marketing","tag-sponsorship","tag-stadia","tag-stadium","tag-stadium-naming-rights"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/idrottsforum.org\/forumbloggen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/optus-stadium-perth.jpg\")
Collateral damage<\/h3>\n
Named and shamed<\/h3>\n
The stadium curse?<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/idrottsforum.org\/forumbloggen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/marvel-stadium-melbourne.jpg\")
Aversion to a rival team\u2019s sponsor<\/h3>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/217369\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\")
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\nEmail: d.rowe@westernsydney.edu.au<\/a>
\nTwitter: @rowe_david<\/a>
\nWebsite: https:\/\/westernsydney.edu.au\/ics\/people\/researchers\/david_rowe<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"