Fashion Company Esprit In Talks With City Officials To End Dusseldorf Stadium Deal

Fashion company Esprit "is reportedly in negotiations with city officials and stadium operators" to end its naming-rights deal ahead of time, according to Kathrin Hartmann of SPONSORs. Should the stadium find a new naming-rights partner prior to the expiration of the contract in '19, Esprit would have to pay a penalty fee. The fee would be €200,000 ($218,000) in the fall of '16 and "decreases depending on when a new partner can be found." Esprit terminated the naming-rights deal in '13. The city of Dusseldorf won the following lawsuit and Esprit was forced to stay on as stadium sponsor until '19. However, the new talks "could put an end to the ongoing saga" (SPONSORs, 12/3).