Feature

Abanca secures naming rights to Deportivo’s Estadio Riazor stadium

Financial services company Abanca has acquired the naming rights to Estadio Riazor, the home stadium of Deportivo la Coruña, as part of a wide-ranging partnership with the Spanish LaLiga top-tier football club.

The eight-year naming-rights agreement will run to 2025, with the stadium to be renamed as the Estadio Abanca-Riazor.

The wider deal includes Abanca providing the club with €45m ($51.1m/£39.5m) to help Deportivo cancel its privileged debt with the Spanish Inland Revenue and also allow it to restructure its finances.

Abanca will also support Deportivo with renovation work at the stadium, which includes making improvements to the roof, enhancing lighting and the façade, as well as installing new benches in the stands, bar and food and drinks facilities and a hospitality and corporate work area.

Deportivo is also set to renew infrastructure, accesses and accessibility at the venue, as well as rolling out a plan to maximise tickets sales, identification via mobile applications and communication with fans.

Juan Carlos Escotet Rodríguez, the chairman of Abanca, said: “It is an honour to contribute to the club’s future possibilities.

“We are aware that supporting Deportivo also strengthens our relationship with its fans around the world; this agreement will give the club the economic muscle to perform the operations it needs.”

IMAGE: Estadio Riazor