RFU chief defends ‘Allianz Stadium’ Twickenham rebrand
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Twickenham, named after the area of London in which it was built in 1907, has a capacity of 82,000.
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LONDON – Rugby Football Union (RFU) boss Bill Sweeney has defended the decision to rebrand Twickenham as the Allianz Stadium in a 10-year, £100 million (S$170.8 million) deal, saying that the bigger question should be why they did not do it earlier.
The national rugby stadiums of Wales, Ireland and Scotland are now branded with commercial names, as are many stadiums in the Southern Hemisphere, and Twickenham, England’s home since 1910, has followed suit with a changeover of signage already under way.
“I think it’s really encouraging for the game when you have a company like them (German insurance group Allianz) investing in rugby union in England,” Sweeney said, following the announcement of the rebranding plans in August.
“They have branding naming rights across seven other stadiums around the world, they are passionate about rugby from the top down. They’ve got experience in stadium redevelopment, so that helps us for our (development) plans for Twickenham 2027 and they are providing a significant investment over a multi-year period, which is coming into the game.
“They’ve been very clear from the outset that they want to see a certain amount of that activity targeted at the community game.”
Despite the positives, there were inevitable questions over whether the financial factor had played a significant part in the name change, especially when it comes to the iconic Twickenham.
Asked if the RFU “had to do it” given the large sum of money involved, Sweeney insisted: “You wouldn’t want to walk away from a very significant investment with a partner which shares similar values and similar passions for the game.
“The question is: ‘Why didn’t we do it earlier? Why haven’t we had a naming-rights partner sooner?’ But it’s a really good deal, good for the game.
“They’re doing it for the right reasons – the vast majority of the people we interact with understand it’s the right deal for the game. You’ll get certain resistance for traditional reasons, that’s wholly understandable, and there’ll be a period of time where it takes time to adjust.”
Twickenham, named after the area of London in which it was built in 1907, held its first rugby international in 1910, when England hosted Wales. It has a capacity of 82,000.
While the RFU will be boosted by the deal, it is also set to make more than 40 members of staff redundant due to increasing costs, reported The Guardian.
The newspaper said that staff were informed on Sept 9 that, as a result of a major restructure, “64 roles are at risk with 22 new jobs to be created”.
The RFU said that the cuts are due to “rising utilities, travel, and operating costs” internally, while it also cited inflation and a decline in broadcast revenues. REUTERS
