City confirms deal to rename ground to Etihad Stadium

MANCHESTER City has announced a new £350m 10-year deal with airline Etihad which includes naming rights for the City of Manchester stadium.

From today, the stadium will be known as the Etihad Stadium and the area surrounding it will be called the Etihad Campus. The deal also includes a 10-year extension of its current shirt sponsorship.

Etihad had been linked with the stadium rights for some time. The multi-faceted deal is understood to be worth around £35m a year to the club over the next 10 years, but chief executive Garry Cook refused to be drawn on numbers at a press conference at the club’s ground this morning.

He said the deal “could quite possibly be one of the most important arrangements in the history of world football”.

“The value is in the total package,” he said. The deal includes media co-operation  – including City content on Etihad flights – commercial co-operation on ticketing, operations and hospitality packages and co-operation on community-led initiatives.

Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese said that the deal would be worth £20m to Manchester City Council over the next five years. “Whether it’s Manchester as a world leading city or Manchester doing its best for local communities, this is nothing but good news,” he said.

“We’re making real progress with economic development in the area around the stadium. We welcome Etihad as a new partner within that effort to make sure we do economically exploit this area and create new jobs for the people around here.”

The club moved to the council-owned stadium in east Manchester from Maine Road in 2003 but recently negotiated a deal that would allow it to sell the naming rights.

James Hogan, chief executive of Etihad, said: “Our relationship is based on excellence. We want to be the world’s leading airline. One way we will achieve global goals is by aligning ourselves with great brands.”

Etihad Airlines is owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi, while Manchester City’s owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan is a member of its ruling family.

The airline today also unveiled a new Manchester City-liveried A330-200, Blue Moon Rising, to celebrate the start of twice-daily flights from Manchester to Abu Dhabi.

Mr Hogan said: “We are very proud of our sponsorship of Manchester City Football Club, and of our commitment to the wider community. Manchester has been a key destination for Etihad for five years, and the increase in frequency to double daily indicates our dedication to the region.”