Sponsors consider position as Eircom Park plans fold

Eircom Park's collapse leaves its sponsors wondering what might happen next. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) meets IMG, the project's marketing partner, today to discuss possible ways to work with sponsors.

It is understood the sponsorship contracts were signed on the basis that the stadium would go ahead. Now the FAI has thrown in its lot with Stadium Ireland, a new relationship between the sponsors and the FAI has yet to be established.

According to IMG, the position of the sponsors in the new stadium was not discussed during the meeting earlier this month when the FAI pulled the plug on Eircom Park.

The development of the stadium opened unparalleled sponsorship opportunities for the FAI and it moved early to secure lucrative deals. At the time Mr Bernard O'Byrne, FAI chief executive, said: "The calibre of companies and brands willing to give support to Eircom Park is an indication of the strong support that exists for the project."

Eircom signed an £11 million (€13.9 million) naming rights agreement and Beamish & Crawford became the official beer sponsor, committing £2.5 million to the project so that Beamish Stout and Miller Genuine Draft would be the only beers sold in the Citywest arena. ACC/TSB was confirmed as the official sponsors in the financial category and Coca-Cola was confirmed as the official soft drinks sponsor. All sponsorship deals were for 10 years.

While the deals were signed in 1999, no money changed hands. Beamish & Crawford, for example, paid nothing up-front as the sponsorship was to start nearer completion of the stadium.

No formal announcement has been made to the sponsors by the FAI but Beamish & Crawford assumes its deal ended with the end of Eircom Park. It says it would consider talking to the FAI in the future about possible sponsorship.

Eircom also understands its arrangement ended with the park's demise but says it remains fully committed to supporting Irish soccer and has a £7 million deal sponsoring Irish international teams from 2002, as well as the National League for the next three years.

The £11 million price tag put on the naming rights was seen as expensive at the time. But Telecom Eireann, which was preparing for flotation when it signed the deal, wanted to establish the new Eircom name and so considered it worth the price.

In the end the firm paid nothing for those naming rights but enjoyed two years of having its name repeatedly linked to the project. While Eircom Park is no more, Eircom could be considered the real beneficiary of the deal.

bharrison@irish-times.ie