Lyon’s home venue retains Groupama name

Article posted by Coliseum, October 16^th, 2020

Image: The National

Groupama – the French insurance major – has renewed on an agreement as regards naming rights to the home arena of Ligue 1 French professional football club Olympique Lyonnais. The naming contract for Lyon has been extended for two years. The amount of the contract has not been disclosed as yet.

The Lyon stadium will continue to be called Groupama Stadium for two additional years following the renewal of the “naming” agreement between the mutual insurer and the company OL Groupe which owns the Décines-Charpieu enclosure.

The ‘Les Gones’ home ground has been known as Groupama Stadium since 2017 as part of a three-year deal struck, which at the time was reportedly worth between €5m (£4.5m/$5.9m) and €7m per year.

Olympique Lyonnais, commonly referred to as simply Lyon or OL, is a French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It plays in France’s highest football division, Ligue 1. The club was established in 1950.

Groupama has now inked a new two-year deal with Lyon to retain naming rights to the 59,000-seat stadium. Lyon said the new arrangement will provide Groupama with greater visibility around the facility.

Remarked Groupama Managing Director Francis Thomine, “We are proud to retain naming rights of Groupama Stadium, an emblematic place that brings to life the passion for sport and major professional and cultural events. The Groupama Stadium is also an economic lever for Lyon and its territory. We wish OL every chance of success, in its sporting performances and in its economic development.”

Lyon President Jean-Michel Aulas had previously hinted to mediapersons that a new stadium sponsor would be sought, as he felt the financial value of Groupama’s previous deal was not satisfactory and they were getting a raw deal. A new deal has been struck but Lyon has not disclosed the financial terms of the agreement reached.

Groupama Stadium in Décines-Charpieu, France, opened in January 2016 and was one of the host venues for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Euro 2016 tournament that summer. The stadium was also one of the main venues during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ and staged the final fixture between USA and the Netherlands.

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