England’s Rugby Football Union is considering the possibility of signing a naming-rights sponsor for Twickenham, the sport’s national stadium.
The RFU’s recently-appointed chief executive, Stephen Brown, said the body is “open-minded” on the subject.
The RFU is investing £54m (€61m/$71.7m) on the renovation of Twickenham’s East Stand, and Brown said a stadium-wide sponsorship deal could be an option in order to drive further commercial revenues.
“We wouldn’t rule out any appropriate commercial opportunity for the venue, the fan base and the stakeholders,” Brown said, according to UK newspaper The Telegraph.
“At the end of the day, we have an obligation to maximise the potential of our assets and ensure we have money to reinvest. We wouldn’t rule it out at all, but it would have to be right. It’s more than just the value – it has to match what we’re trying to do here.”
Brown added: “Twickenham is synonymous with English rugby. Maybe there is a different way of doing it – you don’t have to have a branded stadium.”
The three other home rugby unions already have naming-rights sponsors for their respective national stadiums, with Scotland playing at BT Murrayfield, Wales the Principality Stadium and Ireland the Aviva Stadium.