Championship rugby side Hull Kingston Rovers' KCOM Lightstream Stadium has been renamed as KCOM Craven Park midway through a five-year naming rights deal with KCOM, while Super League side Warrington Wolves "renewed with Halliwell Jones" to keep its stadium name until '21. The new branding for Hull KR will "still carry the name of stadium sponsors KCOM, but will acknowledge the ground’s rich heritage and history as Hull KR focuses on building a successful future and returning to the Super League." Warrington's home will continue to be known as The Halliwell Jones Stadium until at least the end of '21 (RUNNING RUGBY, 2/6).
In a "significant twist to the Millwall FC land-grab debacle," the foundation "at the heart of the scheme was told in 2014 to stop making the false funding claims that have helped puncture the project" -- but still carried on claiming to have a £2M "pledge" until January this year. The Surrey Canal Sports Foundation is fronted by Lewisham Mayor Steve Bullock and "backed by the offshore-registered developer Renewal." Until now, the mayor and the Renewal-backed foundation have "maintained the funding claim was based on Sport England correspondence" from Oct. '13 that they believed suggested a £2M "pledge" was in place. Sport England wrote to the foundation in Sept. '14 "specifically asking it to stop claiming" to have £2M promised and to remove mentions of Sport England from its publicity (London GUARDIAN, 2/8).
