Three years after it opened its doors, the arena in Ludwigsburg, Germany, "has found a naming-rights sponsor," according to the LUDWIGSBURGER KREISZEITUNG. The city, which operates the arena, "signed a 10-year-naming rights deal with Porsche subsidiary automotive process and IT consulting firm MHP." The value of the deal "was not disclosed," but last year the city was expecting €1.5M. Sources close to the deal said that "this amount was not quite reached." However, the deal is still a success for the city, which lost millions each year as the operation costs were much higher than anticipated (LUDWIGSBURGER KREISZEITUNG, 8/30).
NEW LAND: In Nigeria, Chares Ogugbuaja reported that Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastic Province Dr. Anthony J.V. Obinna "has decried the about 2B naira ($12.6M)" Nigeria spent on the London Games without winning a medal. Obinna also used his capacity as the head of the province "in donating an expanse of sports land to help prepare sports men and women" for the '16 Rio Games in the next four years (GUARDIAN NIGERIA, 9/1).
