Opel seals naming rights for Mainz stadium

Car manufacturer Opel has been unveiled as the new naming rights partner of the home stadium of German Bundesliga football club Mainz.

The deal will run for five years, from 2016-17 through to 2020-21, with the venue becoming known as the Opel Arena.

Opel, which has been a commercial partner of Mainz since 2012, will succeed insurance company Coface in the role. The value of the deal was not disclosed, but reports suggest that Opel will pay slightly more than Coface, which was paying €1.8m ($2m) per year.

Coface will scale down its partnership as part of its own extension with the club through to the end of the 2016-17 season.

The 34,000-seat stadium will undergo renovation work in July, with the revamp being completed ahead of the start of the new season.