Twickenham is synonymous with English rugby and is where England’s rugby union side play almost all of their home games. Over the years it has been used for a range of other events, including the Challenge Cup final in rugby league, games in the NFL, Champions Cup clashes and even the Oxford versus Cambridge Varsity Match. Nonetheless, as England’s national stadium in rugby union, it is with that side that the venue is most closely associated.
It is the UK’s second-largest stadium, with only Wembley boasting a bigger capacity than the 82,000 regularly filled at Twickenham for games in the Six Nations. It is also the biggest rugby union stadium in the world, and so Twickenham is important to the wider game, beyond these shores. Indeed, the iconic venue in Richmond upon Thames has twice hosted the Rugby World Cup final, in 1991 and 2015. It was also used for games during the World Cup in 1999, including one of the semis.
And yet Twickenham is no more. On the 5th of August the Rugby Football Union (RFU), who own the stadium, announced that they had agreed to a naming rights deal with Allianz, the German financial services company. Selling the naming rights to stadiums is nothing new, of course, especially in football where money is all. Man City play at the Etihad Stadium, Arsenal at the Emirates and Allianz themselves most famously sponsor Bayern Munich’s home ground. But this deal to rename English rugby’s home has certainly caused something of a stir.
Long History Coming to an End
Twickenham is one of the oldest rugby grounds in the world and dates back to the start of the 20th century. Built in 1907, the “Home of Rugby” saw its first game in 1909, as Harlequins played Richmond. The first international at the venue was early the following year, England welcoming Wales to Twickenham.
For well over 100 years and through several redevelopments and expansions, Twickenham has been central to English rugby. Twickenham is actually a London suburb but to most that single word simply means England and conjures up an image of the white shirt and red rose. For fans now to talk of games at “the Allianz”, or being desperate to get tickets for the Allianz will take a lot of getting used to.
Some naming rights deals have sought to have their cake and eat it by using the original name alongside the new sponsored one. For example, the RFU might have struck a deal to call it the Allianz Twickenham Stadium, or some other variation on that. When this happens, and sometimes even when it doesn’t, many fans will keep simply referring to the stadium as Twickenham, even if the official name includes the company paying the big bucks.
In such a scenario broadcasters will usually be obliged to refer to the ground using its full, sponsored name, and this is what will appear on official publications, merchandise, in the print media and so on. However, when it comes to “the stadium formally known as Twickenham”, the deal is for a full renaming that entirely excludes Twickenham.
Of course, fans, players, and pundits may well struggle to use the new name for a while, or in the case of avowed Twickenham lovers, simply refuse to call it the Allianz Stadium. But over time that name will become more and more predominant and eventually supporters, especially younger ones, will almost begin to forget it was ever called Twickenham. That, really, is what many object to, as it feels by losing the name we are losing a little bit of the history and magic as well.
Details of the Deal
There is not all that much to say about the deal beyond the key facts. Basically, from September onwards, the ground will be known as the Allianz Stadium, with no mention of Twickenham. Allianz will get huge exposure from the deal and obviously feel that the rugby union demographic is suitable for their financial and insurance products.
The RFU, who own Twickenham, will get a massive pile of cash. The precise details of the agreement have not been revealed but it is widely believed that the naming rights have been sold for 10 years, probably with some form of extension option built in, for an initial fee of over £100m.
Allianz now sponsor eight stadiums around the world, with this set to join their deal with Bayern Munich as the biggest. They also have deals with Australian rugby league side the Sydney Roosters, as well as New South Wales Waratahs in Australian rugby union, plus Sydney FC in the A-league (football). MLS side Minnesota play at Allianz Field, with another huge football deal seeing Juventus take to the field at the Allianz Stadium. Nice and Sao Paulo side Palmeiras complete the football line-up, with Toulon (rugby union) joining Nice in playing at the Allianz Riviera.
Where Will the Money Go?
Whatever the exact amount of money the RFU will receive, it is unclear exactly how it will be spent, although the body’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, said that it will help “all rugby, from minis to the elites, from club coaches to our national coaches and everything in between.” The RFU said that the agreement with Allianz brings “significant, long-term investment in the game” and it is thought that the money will be used to help grassroots rugby, the elite game, and possibly also to improve Twickenham (as we can still call it until September!).
The stadium has clearly required modernisation for some time and redevelopment plans had been costed at well over £600m. A sale of the venue had been mooted, with the RFU investigating buying 50% of Wembley, but that now looks off the agenda.
The naming rights deal, which Sweeney said was a “multi-year commitment (worth) well over £100 million”, was billed as being good for rugby at all levels. However, the RFU boss said that the money “will enable us to make Twickenham an even better experience for fans and players.” As such, it remains unclear how much of the cash, if any, will be used to improve the current venue and how much will be left over for the wider benefit of the sport.