The Marketing of Sports Facility Naming Rights in National and International Law
MPI for Private Law, Forum on International Sports Law, 06.12.2010, 17:00
The Forum on International Sports Law of the Hamburg MPI for Comparative and International Private Law and the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Social Law cordially invite your attendance at the upcoming symposium on the commercialisation of sports facility naming rights in national and international law.They are known as easyCredit Stadion, Trolli Arena or Signal Iduna Park – sporting facilities that have been named after companies or brands. Since 2001 when Hamburg SV became the first top division football club to confer its stadium naming rights on a corporation, the commercialisation of facility naming rights has accelerated rapidly within Germany. Thus, one now finds 12 of the 18 current first division Bundesliga clubs playing in stadiums named after a sponsor. While the stadium owner or operator is primarily accessing a supplemental source of income with the typically temporary sale of naming rights, the exercise of the naming rights by sponsors serves as a fruitful component of their communication and marketing activities. Although the proceeds from the sale of facility naming rights will not infrequently be worth millions on the club's balance sheet, the new designation often meets with resistance - above all from the fans. Legal and economic questions associated with the marketing of naming rights and its significance for clubs, stadium operators and sponsors will comprise the focus of the upcoming Hamburg symposium. Along with an appraisal of the basic parameters to be observed by clubs and sponsors in the sale of naming rights, the economic significance of such contracts for sporting associations in Germany and Europe will be outlined and critically assessed from the perspective of legal practitioners such as club representatives and marketers.
Registration requested no later than 22 November 2010 by email (veranstaltungen@mpipriv.de) or by delivery of the attached form.
Changes or updates to the event program can be viewed at the website of the Forum for International Sports Law.
Date of publication: 19.10.2010
Language
German (with some English)
Invitation (in German) (89.3 KB)
Registration Form (258.5 KB)