It is generally regarded as the nuclear option but what are the chances that the GAA might decide to cash in on the brand value of Croke Park with a naming rights partnership?
At the launch of this year’s annual reports last January, Peter McKenna, the association’s commercial and stadium director, was vehement on the subject, saying that he “couldn’t contemplate it”.
There had already been controversy this year with the move by Cork GAA to sell naming rights for Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The initial decision to rebrand the stadium SuperValu Páirc triggered significant resistance but it was quickly resolved by the adoption of SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The originally speculated return of €250,000 a year was believed not to have been hugely undermined by the compromise.
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Perhaps surprisingly, naming rights for stadiums is a generally under-exploited resource. In a recent report, Kroll, global consultants in valuation, corporate finance and restructuring, assessed the value of naming rights for soccer clubs in the top European leagues.
The report is subtitled ‘An analysis of potential stadium naming rights valuations’, and finds that only a third of the top 36 clubs have availed of this revenue.
The estimates combine both actual and hypothetical naming rights deals: Real Madrid, for instance is ranked first on €29.7 million, even though it hasn’t sold its rights, whereas Barcelona in second place has a current agreement with Spotify, estimated at €20 million.
Niall Cribben is the company’s MD here and head of valuation services for Ireland. He suggests that whereas the GAA has no urgent need for the revenue, that could change in the future, as it has for a number of counties.
“I think Breffni Park in Cavan was the first in 2002, so for the last 20 years, it is in growth mode and particularly for the last 10 years. Seventeen out of 32 counties have naming rights agreements.
“Croke Park is the jewel in the crown but it is equally clear at present that there is no current interest in rebranding the stadium. In my own view that’s not to say that something couldn’t happen in the future,” said Cribben
He understands the issue of legacy, which the Kroll report says has also contributed to the low take-up in English and Italian soccer. Of the countries’ top clubs, only Arsenal, Manchester City and Juventus currently have naming rights partnerships.
“There is the ability to create a hybrid approach, like SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork. A similar move in relation to Croke Park would earn more revenue, which would go back to the counties, especially those not as well funded,” added Cribben.
Such situations can be a tightrope for sponsors and can’t have been comfortable for Musgrave, the owners of SuperValu, when the row in Cork was raging, but as Peter McKenna points out, many GAA commercial partners veer towards the philanthropic.
“The GAA tends to be local businesses, like the Glennons in Longford, where they are team sponsor as well. There was a lot of debate around Páirc Uí Chaoimh. I think from the Musgrave point of view it was a way of showing support for Cork, the place from where they had grown. There was a positivity about it but they needed to get the name resolved as part of that.
“There was a vigorous debate on values – Pádraig Ó Chaoimh was a very significant figure in Cork GAA – and a compromise reached, which has worked.”
Sometimes reputational issues affect the sports organisation because of the sponsors. In the US, the Houston Astros baseball signed a 30-year deal in 1999 for $100 million to brand their venue Enron Field.
Enron’s business practices ended up under investigation by a US Senate committee and the Astros eventually bought back their own naming rights for $2.1 million in 2002.
Estimating a price for Croke Park is difficult – as the Kroll report notes, “valuation of intangible assets is not a precise science” – but Cribben says: “It’s clearly a multimillion deal and a 10-year-plus deal would be standard for such a venue.”
For comparison purposes, the RFU’s recent agreement to rebrand Twickenham as Allianz Stadium is believed to be worth £100 million (€120 million) over 10 years whereas Kroll value the 10th most valuable club on their list of estimates, Borussia Dortmund, at €11.6 million.
Celtic Park is Glasgow has an estimated potential of €3.3 million a year. More relevantly, the IRFU’s current deal with Aviva for the Lansdowne Road naming rights, which expires in 2025, is understood to be in the region of €4 million.
Any move for the GAA to explore this potential revenue would be a matter for the Management Committee and Central Council but McKenna doesn’t see it on the horizon and personally, is happy with that.
“My feeling on Croke Park is that it shouldn’t be put up for naming rights. Archbishop Croke was the first patron of the association and we should respect that. I would feel strongly about it. The genesis of the name is hugely important but unlike other grounds there are also significant memorials in the stands and terrace, Hogan, Cusack, Davin, Nally, Dineen.
“It would be very hard to slap a sponsor on the Hogan Stand. Look at the debate around opening up Croke Park. Con Murphy’s [former GAA president] reference to an Association “that caters for everything and stands for nothing” shows the huge emotional attachment to Croke Park. It’s more valuable than the family silver – it’s almost like the family name is gone. I think it’s that deep.”
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