Going to the game at Aviva?

lostexpectation

Lansdowne to be Aviva in €40m deal
http://www.herald.ie/national-news/city-news/lansdowne-to-be-aviva-in-836440m-deal-1614896.htm
LANSDOWNE Road is to be called the Aviva Stadium after the company secured the naming rights in an estimated €40m deal, it has been reported.

Insurer Aviva that used to be
Hibernian( and Norwich Union?)

The naming rights were sold jointly by the IRFU and the FAI, which are thought to be seeking a hefty €50m to €100m from interested parties.

The new 50,000 all-seater Lansdowne is due to be completed in April 2010. The Ballsbridge venue is on a shortlist to host the prestigious Uefa Cup Final in either 2011 or 2012.l

will it catch on

Noopti

Oh sweet mother of holy jesus.....

Crash

Meh, wont make a difference, none of us will be calling it that anyway.

chupacabra

what a ****ing joke, if they were going to go and do this they could have just moved to a site that could have accomodated a 60+ thousand seater instead of a measley 50k one. I know the "lansdowne road" name still has meaning, but this is pretty sad tbh.

Quint

Hard to turn down €40m the way the economy the way it is at the mo.
I'm glad they didn't take chupacabra's advice. Imaging going to a match miles out like blanchardstown? **** that, it'll still be called lansdowne by everyone.

Podge_irl

chupacabra wrote: »

what a ****ing joke, if they were going to go and do this they could have just moved to a site that could have accomodated a 60+ thousand seater instead of a measley 50k one. I know the "lansdowne road" name still has meaning, but this is pretty sad tbh.

What does it matter? No rugby fan is ever going to call it anything but Lansdowne Road and it would stupid to turn down €40m

Sparky14

Though as sponsored named stadiums go, Aviva Stadium sounds particularly sh*t.

bleg

guiness colloseum would have been better

Sangre

great deal from an IRFU point of view. lets put this into connacht, youth system and 7s.

Viva la Aviva!

JohnJericho

Could it not be called the Lansdowne Aviva Stadium to suit everyone

Serenity Now!

It makes no difference what its called. None whatsoever. What does matter however is that it means a great cash injection towards the two sports here.
I still call the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane Lang Park (well actually I call it 'Cane Toad Central' and have never called the SFS in Sydney anything but the SFS.

Moncti48

is this the same type of deal the Arsenal got with Emirates, names on the jersey aswel as renaming the stadium?

Serenity Now!

Moncti48 wrote: »

is this the same type of deal the Arsenal got with Emirates, names on the jersey aswel as renaming the stadium?

O2 are the team sponsors so no, I'd say not.

Harpy

i don't think Aviva stadium sound too bad its better then the hibernian stadium(thank god they changed their name)

its not going to catch on anyway, everyone is going to call it lansdowne road..

toomevara

Who cares what its called as long as it becomes a feckin' fortress and we beat all comers there. If Aviva, or whoever are prepared to part with large wedges of cash to have their name associated with it, all well and good. The more money the IRFU can attract to the game, given the times that are in it, well more power to them.

Still too bloody small though!

ALH-06

Harpy wrote: »

its not going to catch on anyway, everyone is going to call it lansdowne road..

I remember people said the same thing when the Celtic League changed its name to 'Magners'. People didn't refer to the new sponsorship name at first but now, a few years down the line, no-one calls it the 'Celtic League' at all any more.

Lansdowne is obviously a place steeped in centuries of tradition but how long will it take for the younger generations to start calling it the name they hear every day on tv or in the newspapers - the 'Aviva'?

I was so disappointed when I read this news.

Diamondmaker

Serenity Now! wrote: »

I still call the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane Lang Park (well actually I call it 'Cane Toad Central' and have never called the SFS in Sydney anything but the SFS.

Aviva may catch on........

New people to the sport are flooding in, rugby is a definite growth sport in the country and these people may well start to pick up the name as Aviva such is the power of marketing.

certainly all the broadcasters will be obliged to call it thus and a case in point is Suncorp:
Never really following s14 until I got here, I never knew it as Lang Park, I call it Suncorp, due to the power of marketing. I can see it from my balcony; mwith "SUNCORP" in lights and it is referred to as thus in most press info.

Even my mates are starting to subconciously mograte towards calling it Sncorp. However for most of us LDR will not change name but in a generation from now it may be Aviva to many.......

Csh is cash, call it what you will, big swinging.......:) lets just win it !

Jackz

Those free Palestine people won't be happy:

The company name, Aviva, is a Hebrew name meaning Spring or Renewal (as in Tel Aviv).[10] It is pronounced Ah-Vee-Vah.

Blisterman

That's ridiculous. The stadium's over 100 years old. I wouldn't mind it it were a new stadium, but Lansdowne Road is steeped in history. I wouldn't mind so much if it were "Aviva Landsdowne Road", as at least it would still be lansdowne road.

Climate Expert

England or Wales didn't need sponsored stadium names for their recent developements so why do we?
And Aviva is a horrible business name. It wouldn't have been so bad if it was the Hibernian Stadium or Guinness stadium. Something with a bit of national identity and not a bland multinational rebrand.

Quint

Climate Expert wrote: »

Guinness stadium

That would have been cool

Noopti

Yeah, why couldn't Guinness just stop handing out free BBQ kits and use the money to sponsor LR.

Diom

The stadium will be referred to a Landsdowne in the press. The Aviva name will only be associated with it in official publications and stuff like that. I really don't seeing getting called Aviva Stadium by the fans and press.

That said I'm grateful to Aviva who stepped up with a decent offer that will hopefully be put into the grassroots of the game. Hopefully outside of well established bases (hint hint).

Crash

I'd assume some of the press will have to - for instance RTE when doing coverage most likely.

jusk

Who cares - it makes no difference to anybody. Lansdowne Road is the address, not the name, and it isn't moving anywhere.

It was originally called the Royal Irish Parks Stadium, apparently.

They can call it Michael for all I care.

Noopti

lol@Michael

McGurk: Hello, and welcome to the first game of Irelands Six Nations campaign against France live from Michael. With me as usual are George Hook, Brent Pope and Conor O'Shea. Now George, Ireland.......France.........Michael. We've got to be confident haven't we?

Hook: Look, the simple fact of the matter is that Ireland caaaan't bring themselves to win these important maaaatches. Michael or nooooottt.

Pope: Of course they can win George, Irish rugby is on a high at the moment with the provinces doing well in the Heineken Cup and Connaugggh doin well in the ERC.

Hook: The ERC is about as much use as eating a bowl of soup with a fork Popey, you know that!

McGurk: Hohoho.....Conor, will Michael make the difference today?

O'Shea: Well it could make the difference, but it mightn't, but it could also swing it, hard to tell. My head says France, my heart says Ireland. Also my legs say Ireland, so I'll go for Ireland on this occasion.

GeeNorm

Blisterman wrote: »

The stadium's over 100 years old.

its about -1 years old at the moment.:)
Anyway, I changed my name to commemorate this momentous day and think everyone should rejoice that Lansdowne Road is dead and gone... and that O'Leary's grave is finally full.

conf101

As sponsored stadium names go I don't think Aviva is too bad. I doubt it'll really catch on though, it'll still be called Lansdowne Road by all the fans. And €40m at a time like this is a great financial boost!

Crash

Noopti wrote: »

O'Shea: Well it could make the difference, but it mightn't, but it could also swing it, hard to tell. My head says France, my heart says Ireland. Also my legs say Ireland, because I wrote it there last year in permanent marker, so I'll go for Ireland on this occasion.

Fixed.

Serenity Now!

Blisterman wrote: »

That's ridiculous. The stadium's over 100 years old. I wouldn't mind it it were a new stadium, but Lansdowne Road is steeped in history. I wouldn't mind so much if it were "Aviva Landsdowne Road", as at least it would still be lansdowne road.

Its makes not one jot of difference what its called! Not one:rolleyes:

Noopti

Going Waterforward wrote: »

Fixed.

lol....cheers, don't know how I left that bit out!

mad_dub

Its good that the IRFU are receiving this money, however it will not be pumped back into the economy so people should not see this as a benefit. I, along with many other fellow staff members of Hibernian Aviva, are not happy that this has happened. They are cutting jobs in the company to save money and moving jobs to bangalore and then pay this money for a stadium name, which few people will call by the new name. I encourage all Hibernian customers to look at the insurance they have with Hibernian and see if you can support Irish business by looking around as the products are far from what they claim to cover. as someone who works there, i can confirm that the company's policy is to unwillingly pay claims. No doubt the company will come back and say the opposite. Hibernian increase your premiums so they can buy a stadiums name. Shameful. they would have been better off not charging the health levy (something which will not be successfully challenged in courts as it was part of the tax code) and instead putting the money back into the service. But then again, this is a company that has little to no official interest in the irish customers, they are seen as a cash cow for their wealthy shareholders in other countries:mad:

Galway Girl 2

In response to mad dub... as your colleague I think your comments are very irresponsible - do you want the company to lose policies and have to move more roles to India! Comments like that jepordise jobs.

Wickerman1

"Its good that the IRFU are receiving this money, however it will not be pumped back into the economy so people should not see this as a benefit. I, along with many other fellow staff members of Hibernian Aviva, are not happy that this has happened. They are cutting jobs in the company to save money and moving jobs to bangalore and then pay this money for a stadium name, which few people will call by the new name. I encourage all Hibernian customers to look at the insurance they have with Hibernian and see if you can support Irish business by looking around as the products are far from what they claim to cover. as someone who works there, i can confirm that the company's policy is to unwillingly pay claims. No doubt the company will come back and say the opposite. Hibernian increase your premiums so they can buy a stadiums name. Shameful. they would have been better off not charging the health levy (something which will not be successfully challenged in courts as it was part of the tax code) and instead putting the money back into the service. But then again, this is a company that has little to no official interest in the irish customers, they are seen as a cash cow for their wealthy shareholders in other countries"

well said Mad Dub. If anything is irresponsible, it is the lack of sensitivity that this company has for it's staff.

woodsl

Yeah, if that's the case, it is a shambles that they're buying the stadium naming rights. More power to ya mad_dub.

Also, it is a shame it won't be Lansdowne Road any more, and to those who say that it won't be the Aviva stadium cos the press and normal people will still call it Lansdowne, get a grip will ya? The Point is already known everywhere as the O2, the Millennium Dome is now called the O2, actually be thankful the stadium won't be called the O2. This will be no different (unfortunately).

But, as has been said, €40 million is a shag load of rugby balls, and it does make sure that we don't go the way of the Welsh (after building the Millennium stadium and still in debt, having teams dissappearing and reappearing (Celtic Warriors anyone?)).

All in all, don't personally like it but pros outweigh cons in the grand scheme of things.

(PS 50k is WAY too small)

delta_bravo

Sangre wrote: »

great deal from an IRFU point of view. lets put this into connacht, youth system and 7s.

Viva la Aviva!

I think RTE just said the money is going entirely into the cost of the stadium

Serenity Now!

delta_bravo wrote: »

I think RTE just said the money is going entirely into the cost of the stadium

RTE have no idea where the money goes except what they're told and as far as I see, the press announcement said nothing of a kind.

Bluetonic

Just to point out the FAI are part owner of the new stadium along with the IRFU, so a percentage of the revenue from naming rights of the stadium will be going to the FAI. The FAI have confirmed this will be going into grass roots.

There is no longer a landlord/tenant agreement in place.

The IRFU remain the owners of the land.

sagat

I'm disgusted by this, Eircom park that would not have been a problem cause it was a new stadium on a new site but like Croke Park Lansdowne has just been redeveloped and I think it's selling out the great history of the place by selling the name.

And for those of you who think it'll never catch on, when was the last time you heard someone say "The Point Depot"?

Aidric

And so what if it catches on. It's not the worst of names. Those of us who attended games in Lansdowne will still call it Lansdowne and those who grow up with the aviva will call it so. Big deal, things move on, whats important is the money that will be reinvested in to the game.

Stealdo

It would have been irresponsible to turn away from the possibility of this money, but I wouldn't be thinking that this is cash injection going anywhere near the game, (not withstanding the FAI's cut). Rather than rejoicing in the €40M received, we should be wondering what funding will be cut to make up the shortfall of the 50 - 100M that was budgeted for. Don't think for a second that this money was not earmarked for going towards the cost of the redevelopment before the thing was started. Just like all the 10 year seats and the corporate boxes.

Chucky the tree

Aviva las Lansdowne would of been better.

Ivory

I knew they'd come up with a commercial name for Landsdowne road as soon as i heard it was being renovated. It's a terrible trend which has taken a lot of the mystique out of the sportsgrounds of America. Funny thing happened here in Philadelphia though when they named the new football stadium "The Lincoln Financial Field." Everybody just calls it "Lincoln Field" or "The Link", and people associate the name with Abraham Lincoln more than with the bank.

Serenity Now!

sagat wrote: »

I think it's selling out the great history of the place by selling the name

Oh ffs...nothing has changed with regards to the history of the ground. Nothing :rolleyes:

sagat

Serenity Now! wrote: »

Oh ffs...nothing has changed with regards to the history of the ground. Nothing :rolleyes:

Would you have been happy if it was called Pampers Park or Tampax Stadium?

themont85

sagat wrote: »

Would you have been happy if it was called Pampers Park or Tampax Stadium?

Ye but they didn't call it something that stupid did they?

This is inevitable, sad, but its only a name after all. I'd rather the IRFU and FAI(who are struggling already) could pay of the stadium early on rather than leave both games in serious debt for years like the Scots with Murrayfield.

Serenity Now!

sagat wrote: »

Would you have been happy if it was called Pampers Park or Tampax Stadium?

Don't be so effin' silly :rolleyes:
Aside from the fact that its not called anything like the stupid quote above, it has nothing to do with the history of the stadium or its site.

Climate Expert

Its a bit dissapointing. Thomond and Croke Park didn't need to resort to such lengths.
Even more dissapointing we had the benefit of two major sporting organisations providing the finances and they still failed.

anonymous_joe

Climate Expert wrote: »

Its a bit dissapointing. Thomond and Croke Park didn't need to resort to such lengths.
Even more dissapointing we had the benefit of two major sporting organisations providing the finances and they still failed.

Because Thomonds tiny and Croke Park was paid for by the government.

It's not ideal, and it kinda sucks, but it beats them being in debt. This allows them to pump more money into Irish rugby, (and the FAI and football) so I can accept it.

Crash

I think Thomond did originally plan on selling the naming rights, but there were few bidders for the amount they wanted.

Riskymove

I think whats wrong aboutn naming rights is that its likely that in 10 years time it could change to the O2 Stadium and then something else in 5 years after that and so on!!!