The arches of Wembley Stadium "will bear corporate branding for the first time" after U.K. telecommunications firm EE yesterday signed a six-year deal with England's Football Association worth US$41.6M to sponsor the venue, according to Nic Fildes of the LONDON TIMES. It facility will "formally be called 'The Wembley Stadium connected by EE.'" This marks the "first time that the home of the England football team has been sponsored." EE will "invest in a new network for the stadium offering fans 4G and eventually wi-fi nodes." This is the "largest venue sponsorship deal" since O2 agreed to pay US$10M per year to "rebadge what was the Millennium Dome as a concert venue." The deal "will see the stadium adopt EE’s aqua and yellow branding" and will carry its logo "on the outer shell of the building." Fears that the company "might look to change the name of the stadium to 'WemblEE' have proved unfounded." The FA is "understood to have approached a number of companies" about a potential sponsorship deal in the past, "but opened talks with EE about 15 months ago." The deal "is a major coup for EE, which has been looking for a landmark institution to partner with to boost the visibility of its main brand as opposed to the better known Orange and T-Mobile brands it also operates" (LONDON TIMES, 2/27). The London INDEPENDENT notes the new deal "begins immediately, ahead of the Capital One Cup final" on Sunday between EPL clubs Manchester City and Sunderland. There "had been reports last year that the Football Association-owned stadium was pursuing a naming rights deal, but a statement stressed: 'The world-renowned name of the stadium will remain'" (London INDEPENDENT, 2/27).
