Afternoon:
12°c
Stadium for 2012 may be named after a company
Matthew Beard, Evening Standard19.02.08
Olympics chiefs are considering multimillion-pound deals to let companies sponsor sports venues after the Games.
They may auction naming rights for the top locations, including the Olympic stadium, aquatics centre and velodrome.
The London Development Agency, the main freeholder in the 500-acre Olympic Park, is considering the deals as part of a series of measures to secure the venues' long-term commercial viability.
Such contracts are commonplace in some sports. In the Premiership, Arsenal have signed an eight-year deal worth £100 million with airline Emirates and their stadium is named after the firm.
Bolton play at the Reebok Stadium and Wigan's home is the JJB Stadium.
Surrey County Cricket Club have named their home the Brit Oval thanks to a deal with the insurance company.
However, the International Olympic Committee would almost certainly insist the word "Olympic" be dropped from venues used for the Games if any such naming deals were struck.
Meanwhile, sportswear makers such as Nike, adidas and Reebok will be invited to put in bids to open stores on the Olympic site.
Gareth Blacker, the agency's director of Olympic development, said: "Naming rights are something we would consider further down the line as a way of making the venues pay their way."
The agency is seeking deals with three different tenants for the Olympic stadium-Tom Russell, director for Olympic legacy, said a deal with a Premiership football club had not been ruled out.
But it remains far more likely that the Olympic stadium, which after 2012 will have a capacity of 25,000, will be home to athletics, Leyton Orient FC and, possibly, Wasps rugby club.
Business interests initially opposed a Premiership football team in the stadium. Investors in the planned Stratford City shopping centre were concerned an influx of fans would deter shoppers. Last year, Olympics bosses rejected West Ham's £100 million offer to convert the stadium into their new home, with 60,000 seats, after concerns over design.
