Manchester Arena goes a year without sponsorship
A YEAR has passed since the Manchester Arena ceased to be the MEN Arena, and there is no sponsorship deal on the table.
A spokesman for the venue’s owner Development Securities said the business was still working on a potential agreement alongside SMG Europe, which operates the 21,000-capacity venue.
She said the business hoped to finalise a deal by the summer.
Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror, which owns the Manchester Evening News, ended a 13-year association with the venue in December 2011.
Brands that have since been linked to the naming rights include Morrisons supermarkets and the Emirates airline.
Earlier this week Development Securities said it had agreed a repayment extension on debts it has against the Manchester Arena.
In an interim management statement covering the period from September 1, the property group said it had extended the maturity on the £47.5m bank loan by a year to June 2014.
Lloyds Bank arranged the loan in 2010 to finance the £62m purchase from regional landlord Capital & Regional and the multinational GE. Yorkshire Bank then took on half the debt in June 2011.
