Wasps in historic naming rights deal

Article posted by Coliseum, May 11^th, 2021

Image: Ricoh Arena

A landmark naming rights deal has been struck for one of the UK’s leading multipurpose sports, business and entertainment venues based in the Midlands – Ricoh Arena.

‘Ricoh Arena’ stated that Coventry’s Ricoh Arena will be known as the Coventry Building Society Arena for the next 10 years from this summer, after the Coventry Building Society agreed to a long-term deal with the venue owners Wasps Group.

The Ricoh Arena is a complex in Coventry, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium, home to Coventry City and Wasps rugby union club, a 6,000 square meters exhibition hall, a hotel, and a casino. The stadium will be known as the Coventry Building Society Arena as of July 2021.

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The Coventry Building Society is a building society based in Coventry, England. It is the second largest in the United Kingdom with total assets of more than £49 billion as on December 31^st, 2019. It is a member of the Building Societies Association. The society has 1.5m saver-members and a further 350,000 borrower-members.

The ‘Ricoh Arena’ further stated that the sponsorship by the UK’s second largest building society, one of the country’s top 10 best employers, underlines the organization’s commitment to Coventry and the wider region, and its desire to put the Coventry name firmly on the national map.

As part of the first change of name to the venue since it opened in 2005, the Coventry Building Society brand will be prominent inside and outside the venue, and the agreement will see the two organizations working in tandem to develop and deliver programs for the benefit of the wider local community.

The Coventry-based venue is the home of Wasps Rugby and Wasps Netball – and the major sponsorship agreement comes as the venue prepares to welcome back Coventry City Football Club in August, before hosting a Rugby League World Cup clash in October, as well as being part of Coventry UK City of Culture and next year’s Commonwealth Games.

The Wasps Rugby Football Club is an English professional rugby union team based in Coventry, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England’s top division of rugby.

The Wasps Netball is an English netball team based at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, Warwickshire. The Wasps Netball was formed in 2016 as a partnership with the Premiership Rugby team, Wasps RFC. Since 2017, their senior team has played in the Netball Superleague. They were Superleague champions in 2017 and 2018.

The Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.

Stephen Vaughan, Wasps Group Chief Executive, said striking such a major deal went on to prove the appeal and ambition of the venue.

Exulted Vaughan, “We are thrilled to be joining forces with Coventry Building Society as we embark on a hugely exciting period for the venue with the imminent return of Wasps and Coventry City supporters, along with the reopening of our conferencing, event facilities and hotel. This is far more than simply a naming rights deal -we absolutely had to ensure that we united with an organization that shares our vision for the arena and our values around what we want to deliver in the wider community. Coventry Building Society’s plans underpin ours in so many ways, so the fit is really strong and we will put the arena and its fantastic facilities at the heart of our plans.”

The top shot added, “Coventry Building Society, like our venue, has strong local roots and a national reach, and we are looking forward to supporting each other over the coming years. It is an exciting time for the venue and we are thrilled to be sharing it with such great people and an iconic business. On behalf of the venue, I’d also like to place on record my sincere thanks to Ricoh, who have been a brilliant sponsor and partner over the years, and we look forward to continue working with them in the future.”

Steve Hughes, CEO, Coventry Building Society, added, “This is a fantastic partnership for us, for Wasps and for the City of Coventry. Two of the biggest brands in the area joining forces show our commitment to the City and it comes at an exciting time when the UK City of Culture and the Commonwealth Games brings Coventry into the international spotlight. The Coventry Building Society Arena puts our name on the map and will raise our profile across the UK. We already have more than two million members, but this is a statement of intent that shows we want to grow further and help many more people achieve their financial aspirations.”

Darin Landon, Chief Commercial Officer at Coventry Building Society, commented, “The Coventry Building Society and Wasps already work to support local communities in Coventry and Warwickshire. By joining forces, we plan to make the Coventry Building Society Arena a focal point for the community, bringing together people and organizations across the City to make a positive difference to everyone who lives here. The arena is not only a top class venue for sports, music and business events, it’s also a Coventry landmark.”

Added Landon, “Many of our members and our colleagues are proud Wasps and Coventry City supporters. I hope that they’ll be excited to see our name on the stadium and see this partnership develop over the next 10 years.”

Adam Benson, Wasps’ Chief Commercial Officer, added, “Coventry Building Society is the perfect fit as a new naming rights partner. They are committed to excellence in customer service, care passionately about the culture of their business and understand the vital role they have to play in making a difference to the communities in which we live and work. These shared values will allow us to create a unique partnership for the benefit of everyone – members, supporters, customers, employees, and local residents.”

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