‘The Red Army’ Cork venue revert to old name

Article posted by Coliseum, December 17^th, 2020

Image: Munster Rugby

Munster Rugby (Ireland) and the Irish media organization Independent News & Media have mutually agreed to bring their naming rights sponsorship agreement to an end.

The Independent News & Media owns the Irish Independent newspaper, which took on naming rights to the stadium as part of its deal with the club. Munster’s 10-year deal with the group began in 2015 and had been due to run until 2025, but the agreement has been brought to an end five years early.

Munster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland and is one of the most successful and best supported rugby clubs in the world. They compete in the Pro14 and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Though their main home ground is Thomond Park in Limerick (Ireland), but the rugby team plays few of its game at Musgrave Park, Cork in Ireland, and the facility serves as the club’s secondary home.

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The Independent News & Media plc is an Irish media organization based in Dublin that publishes national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers and operates multiple websites including Independent i.e., INM operates throughout Ireland.

The Cork-based 8,000-seat stadium Musgrave Park will no longer be referred to as Irish Independent Park and will return to its former name of Musgrave Park with immediate effect.

Munster Rugby Head, Commercial and Marketing, Dave Kavanagh, remarked, “We are very appreciative of Independent News & Media’s support and commitment over the last number of years in what has been a very successful partnership and naming rights sponsorship for the province. The successful redevelopment of the ground is directly attributed to the naming partnership with INM and for this we now have superb facilities in place with a venue that is widely used by the community, hosts international events and concerts, and is central to rugby development in the region.”

Musgrave Park opened in 1940 and is the Cork home of Munster Rugby, although the province plays the vast majority of their senior men’s fixtures at Thomond Park in Limerick.

Musgrave Park is a rugby football stadium in the City of Cork, Ireland. The ground is situated on Pearse Road in Ballyphehane. The ground is named after Jimmy Musgrave, a past-President of the Irish Rugby Football Union.

Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The capacity of the stadium is 25,600 following its large-scale redevelopment in 2008. The famous venue is renowned internationally for its unique history and atmosphere.

The PRO14 is an annual rugby union competition involving professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.

The European Rugby Champions Cup is an annual rugby union tournament organized by the European Professional Club Rugby. It is the top-tier competition for clubs whose countries’ national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship.

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