Stoke City have announced the Britannia Stadium is to be known as the bet365 Stadium from the start of the 2016/17 Premier League season.
The Potters have entered into an initial six-year stadium naming rights agreement with the Club’s owners bet365, who have also extended their shirt sponsorship of the Potters for a further three years.
In addition, the Club have also announced plans to redevelop the stadium by ‘filling in’ the corner between the DPD and Marston’s Pedigree Stands, thereby creating 1,800 extra seats and lifting the capacity above 30,000. The work will be completed in time for the start of the 2017/18 season.
bet365, the world’s largest online gambling company with more than 20 million customers around the globe, has its headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent and is the city’s largest private sector employer with a workforce approaching 3,000.
Stoke City Chief Executive Tony Scholes said: “The Premier League is constantly evolving and to ensure that Stoke City remain as competitive as possible it’s important we explore as many ways as possible of generating revenue.
“As supporters are no doubt aware the Britannia brand no longer exists and it was important that we attracted a new stadium naming rights partner.
“The Premier League is watched around the world and bet365 are a truly global company. We are delighted that we have been able to reach an agreement with them over the stadium naming rights for an initial six year period, along with the extension of their shirt sponsorship agreement.
“bet365 are taking over from Britannia and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Britannia and the Co-operative Bank for their tremendous support over the past 19 years.
“We also felt the time was right to redevelop the corner of the ground between the DPD and Marston’s Pedigree Stands. Planning permission has been in place for some time but it was important we carried out the work when we felt the Club was ready for an increase in seat capacity.”
John Coates, joint Chief Executive of bet365 and Vice-Chairman of Stoke City, said: “There’s no doubt bet365 has benefitted enormously from the global exposure our shirt sponsorship agreement with the Club has given us.
“We have been looking to extend our portfolio of sports sponsorship and entering into a stadium naming rights agreement with Stoke City seemed a natural fit, especially as the city of Stoke-on-Trent is home to bet365.
“We are looking forward to what we hope will be a successful future for both the Club and bet365 with both organisations working closely together.”
The stadium, which became the Potters’ home when they moved from the Victoria Ground in 1997, will undergo a complete rebrand over the course of this summer in preparation for the start of the 2016/17 season – the Club’s ninth in the Premier League.
