Paris Saint-Germain has launched its search for a naming-rights partner at the Parc des Princes, the French Ligue 1 football club’s famous home stadium.
The club distributed emails to hundreds of French and international companies on Thursday to invite expressions of interest, according to Le Parisien.
The Parc des Princes has never had a naming-rights sponsor, but PSG chairman and CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi hinted at the move in February when he said that “all clubs have a naming deal these days”.
The club is preparing to embark upon a project to build a new training complex, which is expected to open in 2022, while a possible expansion of the Parc des Princes has been mooted for some time.
PSG, which is wary that it could take many months at least to source an appropriate deal, has said: “We are only at the beginning of the project.”
PSG is reportedly looking for a partner that will bring an added “experience” to supporters as part of the association, as well as a significant financial injection for the club.
The naming-rights sponsor would be added to the existing Parc des Princes name, which would not disappear. The deal would also have to be signed off by the Mayor of Paris, who would have three months to review the proposal and could veto the proposal if it is not appropriate for the city’s image, the report added.
As part of an agreement struck in 2011 to hand over control of the venue to PSG’s Qatari owners, city hall will also receive 3% of the value of the deal, according to the newspaper.
The current stadium opened in 1972 and underwent significant renovation work earlier this decade to increase the capacity to nearly 48,000. The first of three incarnations of the stadium opened in 1897 on grounds that were previously used for hunting by members of the French royal family before the fall of the Bastille.
Before the Stade de France opened for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the Parc des Princes was France’s national stadium for football and rugby union.
Image: Валерий Дед
