NRMA-Adelaide Oval to promote football-cricket

Article posted by Coliseum, April 16^th, 2025

Image: IAG on LinkedIn

The Adelaide Oval (South Australia) and the NRMA Insurance recently announced that Australia’s most trusted insurer has become the Official Major Partner of the iconic stadium with the venue’s Southern Plaza set to be renamed.

‘Adelaide Oval’ stated that under the five-year agreement the Southern Plaza will be known as the NRMA Insurance Plaza with new signage set to light up the popular meeting place.

The 53,500-capacity Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the State of South Australia. It is located in the parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian Rules football (a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground) but has also played host to rugby league, rugby union, soccer, and tennis as well as regularly being used to hold concerts.

Sydney (Australia)-based the NRMA Insurance is Australia’s most trusted insurance brand helping more than three million Australians protect what matters. Help has been at the heart of NRMA Insurance since its beginnings in 1925 as a member-only company that provided motor insurance policies to the first drivers in New South Wales (NSW). The NRMA Insurance has grown to become a national brand that helps people protect their cars, homes and businesses. It has a proud history of working with the communities to build their resilience against extreme weather and keep people safer on the road. The NRMA Insurance helps the Australians understand their local risks and prepare for extreme weather through its Help Nation initiative.

‘Adelaide Oval’ further stated that the Gameday Usher and the Stadium Tour Ambassador uniforms will be refreshed and the venue’s concierge desk rebranded to the NRMA Insurance Help Desk highlighting the leading insurer’s role as ‘A Help Company’.

The major partnership will help maintain Adelaide Oval as a world-class venue while supporting the growth and development of grassroots football and cricket through the stadium’s management model which sees profits returned to both sports.

Remarked Julie Batch, NRMA Insurance head honcho, “The NRMA Insurance has been helping the Australians protect what matters for almost 100 years and is proud to become the Official Major Partner of the Adelaide Oval helping the stadium continue its stature as a world-class venue and a recognized meeting place. The Adelaide Oval is not just a stadium, it’s a cultural icon that holds great pride among the South Australians and is enjoyed year-round by the local community and the visitors to the State.”

Complete with tourism offerings such as tours and the RoofClimb, the award-winning onsite Oval Hotel, the restaurants and the cafés as well as its thriving functions and events business the Adelaide Oval now welcomes over 1.9 million visitors annually.

Beyond its 30+ cricket and the Australian Football League (AFL – the pre-eminent professional competition of Australian Rules football) gamedays the venue hosts concerts, international sporting and cultural events and over 1,800 functions each year.

Noted Nick Addison, Adelaide Oval Chief Executive Officer (CEO), “As the custodians of South Australia’s most recognizable asset we have a responsibility to maintain its standing as an internationally renowned venue and seek partners that share that vision. In NRMA Insurance we have secured a partner that not only shares our values and our commitment to South Australia but also our enthusiasm for creating new opportunities for customer engagement and community outreach.

While the other stadiums can sell their naming rights the Adelaide Oval brand name proudly belongs to the people of South Australia and is internationally respected. Instead, we’ve built commercial value in the Southern Plaza which welcomes the majority of our visitors and attracts major exposure on a global scale. The interest we received, both from the local and the national brands, is testament not only to Adelaide Oval’s stature as an international icon but also South Australia’s continued emergence as a vibrant and valuable commercial environment.”

The new partnership represents NRMA Insurance’s second major investment in South Australia this year following its inaugural season as the presenting partner of the Adelaide Fringe (Australia’s biggest arts festival) which saw the insurer match the community donations to the festival’s philanthropic initiatives. The NRMA Insurance has also been a partner of the South Australian State Emergency Service (SA SES) since 2021 working together to help the South Australians be better prepared for storms and floods.

Maintained Michelle Klein, NRMA Insurance Chief Customer and Marketing Officer, “Our partnerships in South Australia with the SA SES, Adelaide Fringe and now Adelaide Oval demonstrate our commitment to helping the South Australian communities and supporting the cultural moments that hold significance. This new partnership with the Adelaide Oval is an opportunity for us to support the venue as well as the growth and development of grassroots football and cricket. There’s no better time for us to come on board than ahead of the AFL Gather Round (an annual Australian Football League [AFL] event in which all games in one home-and-away round are played in a single City and its surrounds) when hundreds of thousands of fans will descend on the Adelaide Oval for a festival of footy.”

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