Stadium could bring in €200,000 in sponsorship
By Hayden Moore
COUNCILLORS were underwhelmed with the valuation that Tallaght Stadium could potentially bring in around €200,000 in sponsorships, including naming rights, at the recent monthly meeting of the council.
Based on the intelligence gathered during a report by Core Sponsorship for South Dublin County Council, it was recommended that they bring the naming rights of Tallaght Stadium to market.
Tallaght Stadium
Although, the retention of ‘Tallaght’ in the name – because of there potentially being too many words in the name including a potential sponsor – and the number of different events held during the year in the stadium were some of the factors that could influence the market interest and value.
In the report, produced to members of the council on Tuesday night, it was revealed that a naming rights partner could bring in around €170k – with contracts typically covering a five or 10-year period with naming partners.
In addition to that, the report outlined how the new North Stand development “has the potential for a bespoke digital advertising site” that could generate around €20k in paid advertising.
It was recommended in the report also that two fixed advertising packages be created for signage dispersed around the stadium on places like the side of the stand, bins and washrooms with a total value of €10-15k.
The council’s Chief Executive Daniel McLoughlin was seeking permission from councillors to proceed with moving forward to see what interest there is out there from potential branding partners.
Sinn Féin’s Cathal King was one of a few councillors who were underwhelmed with the valuation of sponsorship for the stadium.
A sample of the branding
“To be honest I’m a bit surprised at the figures, I thought there would have been a lot more money involved,” he said.
“170 grand is okay but 15 grand per annum seems very small for those packages.
“I am in favour of the development of this and we do need to be bringing in concerts and the likes as well.”
Most of the councillors in attendance were fully on board, but many took issue with dropping ‘Tallaght’ from the name altogether.
“People are drawn to Tallaght Stadium because it’s part of our identity and our community,” said Cllr Charlie O’Connor of Fianna Fáil.
“If you were to ask people in Limerick where Tallaght Stadium is, they’ll tell you it’s in Tallaght. If you were to ask people in Tallaght if they knew where Thomond Park is, they would be like ehhhh?
“This is Tallaght Stadium we’re talking about here.”
Meanwhile Green Party Cllr Peter Kavanagh said: “The naming rights to the stadium is something we should hold a lot of value in.
“As a baseball fan, I was broken hearted to see the world series played in Minute Maid Park there a few years ago – named after a box of orange juice.
“York City played football in KitKat Crescent there for a few years as well.
“If no companies such as Aviva, who have paid €4 million for the old Lansdowne Road, come in then I think we shouldn’t be going ahead with changing it from Tallaght Stadium to make sure we don’t end up with something like Fruice Stadium, or Trump Tower Arena god forbid.
“There has to be a level of quality control.”
