Stadion Gdańsk ‘dial’ into Polsat Plus

Article posted by Coliseum, May 28^th, 2021

Image: UEFA

Stadion Gdańsk in Poland has agreed to a naming-rights deal with the Polish telecommunications company Polsat.

The above deal makes Stadion Gdańsk the only Polish stadium to have a naming rights partner for every season of its existence.

‘Sporting Free’ stated that the six-year deal struck will be worth nearly PLN17m (£3.3m/€3.8m/$4.6m) and officially rebrands the stadium as the Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk. The deal was inked just before the 41,600-seat stadium was preparing to host the UEFA Europa League Final between the Premier League team Manchester United F.C. (UK) and LaLiga team Villarreal CF (Spain) on May 26^th, 2021.

Villarreal beat Manchester United on penalties to win the UEFA Europa League Final and walked away with the trophy.

The 43,615-capacity Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk is a football stadium in Gdańsk, Poland. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Lechia Gdańsk currently playing in the Ekstraklasa (the top Polish professional league for men’s association football teams).

Polsat Group is Poland’s largest media and telecommunications group and the leader on the Polish entertainment and telecommunications markets. In fact, Polsat is the biggest broadcasting and telecommunications conglomerate in Central and Eastern Europe.

The 2021 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2020-2021 UEFA Europa League, the 50^th season of Europe’s secondary club football tournament organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and the 12^th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

Polsat and its Internet services arm, Plus, will be given the opportunity to organize their own shows at the stadium as part of the agreement reached. Polsat will organize at least two events a year.

‘Sporting Free’ further stated that the stadium had been without a naming rights sponsor since November 2020 after energy group Energa ended its five-year backing of the venue.

There was a lot of bad blood between the operator of the then Stadion Energa Gdańsk, the City of Gdańsk (Poland) and Energa over the latter’s decision to end its naming rights sponsorship of the Polish football stadium.

Energa is one of Poland’s biggest energy companies and one of the country’s three largest suppliers of electricity.

The rebranding of the stadium will benefit both Polsat and Plus as both the local brands will gain popularity and potential customers. The Gdansk stadium has been renamed the Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk.

Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdańsk, said, “Our amber arena has become a contemporary showpiece of Gdańsk. Next to the Neptune fountain and shipyard cranes, it is the stadium that we see most often in photos. Its unique architecture and close proximity to both the beach and the heart of the City increase the attractiveness of our stadium. But the stadium is also about life, emotions and events, so I am glad that our new partner will also organize its own shows at Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk.”

Mirosław Błaszczyk, President, Management Board, Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel, which operates the Plus network, added, “We are a Polish company and the presence of our two main brands, Polsat and Plus, in the name of the beautiful, amber Stadion Gdańsk, recognizable throughout Poland, is a great way to promote them. Our offer is the best entertainment and the possibility of accessing it at any time, place and on any device – we provide services and products for everyone and everywhere.”

Added Błaszczyk, “ Stadion Gdańsk fits perfectly into our strategy of providing millions of viewers and customers with the best content, services and products – combining the opportunity to experience sports, music or great events live at the stadium, as well as on the Internet or television.”

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