Lancashire Cricket-Emirates clocks mega deal

Article posted by Coliseum, May 30^th, 2022

Image: Lancashire CC

Lancashire Cricket (UK) has announced that Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, has signed a new seven-year extension of the club’s headline partnership, until 2029, making it the longest and biggest sponsorship in English domestic cricket.

The ‘Lancashire Cricket Club’ stated that the extended partnership includes naming rights of the world-class stadium Emirates Old Trafford, as well as shirt sponsorship for Lancashire Lightning’s Vitality Blast shirt, and strengthens one of the most recognizable and respected sponsorships in sport.

The Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in English cricket. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire’s home is Old Trafford Cricket Ground (UK), although the team also play matches at other grounds around the county.

Apply for membership

The 26,000-capacity Old Trafford is a cricket ground in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK). It opened in 1857 as the home of Manchester Cricket Club and has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since 1864. From 2013 onwards it has been known as Emirates Old Trafford due to a sponsorship deal with the Emirates Airline.

Emirates are the largest airline and one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Based in Garhoud, Dubai, the airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which is owned by the Government of Dubai’s Investment Corporation of Dubai.

The ‘Lancashire Cricket Club’ further stated that the partnership began in April 2013 and this extension means that Emirates will remain as principal headline sponsor at Lancashire Cricket and Emirates Old Trafford and be on the front of the club’s T20 shirt for at least 17 years.

In addition to the previous assets, a new lounge -named the Emirates Business Class Lounge – a dedicated hospitality and conference and events space – will be branded up in the historic Pavilion at the Emirates Old Trafford.

Emirates’ seven-year extension sees Lancashire Cricket and its headline partnership of the club continue its presence as part of the airline’s prestigious family of sporting partnerships including the Spanish professional football club Real Madrid CF, the Serie A club A.C. Milan (Italy), the Premier League club Arsenal F.C. (UK), the Emirates FA Cup, the Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain F.C. (France), International Cricket Council (ICC) (world governing body of cricket), Rugby World Cup 2019, Formula 1, global golf tournaments and others in Australian Rules Football, tennis, and horse racing.

Said Daniel Gidney, Chief Executive at Lancashire Cricket, “This is a historic day for the club and we’re delighted to announce the Emirates partnership renewal, which positions the sponsorship at Lancashire Cricket as one of the biggest and most recognizable in the game. We are hugely proud of our relationship with Emirates, a world class brand with a truly global reach, and this is another very positive step as part of the club’s continued commercial growth and development.”

Added Gidney, “Emirates are once again demonstrating their great belief in Lancashire Cricket’s aims and ambitions for the future, continued development at Emirates Old Trafford and their investment over the next seven years will only help us continue our journey. The new partnership extension, as headline sponsor of Lancashire Cricket and Emirates Old Trafford until 2029, underlines how much both organizations value and benefit from the positive and ongoing relationship. We are incredibly grateful for their support of the club and we look forward to working with their team over the next seven years and beyond.”

The organizations have worked together on a number of activations over the years including the well-known Emirates Catch a Six at the Roses Vitality Blast fixture, Emirates Lockdown Heroes in 2021 which paid tribute to those who made a tangible difference to the national and local fight during the COVID-19 pandemic. The club also supported Emirates during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup last November and have visited the Dubai 2020 Expo twice over the past six months.

Added Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice-President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand for Emirates, “We are very pleased to be extending our partnership with Lancashire Cricket Club until 2029. Emirates are a staunch supporter of cricket and the above announcement reaffirms our commitment to the sport in the United Kingdom, and worldwide. Lancashire is a legendary name in English cricket and as the world’s largest international airline – we are proud to be playing such a big role in the club’s growth and success. The new agreement will make this the longest and biggest sponsorship in English domestic cricket. We very much look forward to the next seven years of our mutually beneficial relationship.”

The partnership extensions follow on from the club’s historic preseason tour in March, where Lancashire’s men’s team were joined by the women’s Thunder squad – a first joint tour ever undertaken by a First-Class county. The squads trained at the ICC Academy, playing a number of fixtures whilst also visiting the Dubai 2020 Expo, alongside the Emirates cabin crew.

In addition to this, Emirates Old Trafford continues to transform, even after the £65 million redeveloped over the past decade, after plans were approved from the Trafford Council for work at the ground. The new project includes plans for a 100-bed hotel extension, 1,025-seater stand, a heritage center, a guest services hub, and a new retail store facing directly on to Brian Statham Way. This continued redevelopment will play a key role in the club’s long-term financial strategy and sustainability moving forward and will also increase and improve the facilities that can be used by Members and supporters.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 250 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue