Australian automaker Holden will on Wednesday sign "one of the biggest sports club sponsorship deals in Australian sport" with Australian Football League team Collingwood, in an agreement understood to be worth more than A$3M ($2.2M) annually, according to John Stensholt of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Holden will replace banking group Westpac as the naming rights sponsor for Collingwood's training and administration facility near the Melbourne Cricket Ground and "step up to be a top-tier premier partner." Holden's deal is understood to top the five-year, A$10M agreement Collingwood signed with Emirates last year for the airline to "remain a premier partner alongside CGU, Latrobe Financial and Star Athletic." Collingwood President and media identity Eddie McGuire is expected to announce the deal in Melbourne on Wednesday alongside Holden execs "at what will become known as the Holden Centre." The center is currently being expanded as part of a A$32M ($23.5M) revamp that includes new training, office, community and event areas. It is understood the car company's rugby league deal is "being renegotiated as part of several State of Origin sponsorships the NRL is seeking to extend" (SMH, 8/18).
