English Rugby Union club Saracens' new ground at Barnet Copthall stadium "will be named Allianz Park," according to the PA. A six-year deal worth £8M ($12.4M) has been signed with German financial services provider Allianz with "stadium naming rights part of the agreement." Allianz will also become Saracens' shirt sponsor (PA, 7/24). The DPA reported that France, where Allianz acquired the stadium naming rights for Nice's new stadium, and the U.K. are "important insurance markets." Allianz Head of Global Brand Management Christian Deuringer said, "Our goal is to improve the brand recognition of the Allianz brand. The naming of a sport stadium includes a distinctive emotional component -- for an abstract brand like Allianz, a stadium can quickly become an expressive symbol" (DPA, 7/24).

The Navarra government in northern Spain has pulled its €1.4M ($1.7M) stadium naming-rights deal from La Liga club Osasuna, according to Javi Gomez of NOTICIASDENAVARRA.com. One of the "direct consequences" of the decision is the name change for the stadium. The stadium was called Reyno de Navarra due to the agreement with the government. But now that the deal has been pulled, various sources from Osasuna believe that it would be "logical that the stadium goes back to its original name," El Sadar. Rey de Navarra was "simply a marketing deal." That is the opinion of a number of people including Osasuna President Miguel Archanco (NOTICIASDENAVARRA.com, 7/24). MARCA's Gonzalo Velasco reported that the reason for the government's decision was the "economic situation" in the region (MARCA, 7/24).