Protective takes naming rights to 55,000-seat Birmingham stadium

Financial services company Protective Life Corporation has acquired naming rights to a planned multi-use stadium in the US city of Birmingham, Alabama.

The 15-year agreement officially names the venue, which will be one of the host facilities for the 2021 World Games multi-sport event, as the Protective Stadium.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed but the AL.com website reported that Protective will pay $15m (€13.3m) for the naming rights.

Protective, which is headquartered in Birmingham, agreed the deal with the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The company joins the BJCC Authority, City of Birmingham, Jefferson County, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and other corporate partners in funding the new stadium.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said: “With Protective joining as the naming rights sponsor, we are forging Birmingham’s future together. This allows us to be competitive with other cities in bringing in world-class sporting and entertainment events.”

The $174m, 55,000-seat stadium is due to be completed by 2021 in time for the World Games. It will also host American football games played by the University of Alabama in Birmingham.