West Bromwich Albion Has No Plans To Rebrand Hawthorns

Premier League side West Bromwich Albion's training ground was recently renamed to reflect its new sponsor -- but there are "no plans to rebrand the Hawthorns any time soon," according to Paul Stuart of the BIRMINGHAM MAIL. West Brom announced last week it signed a sponsorship deal for the club's Walsall training facility to be renamed the Palm Training Ground. Chinese landscaping firm Palm, the company "closely associated" with the club's controlling shareholder, Guochuan Lai, committed £6M earlier this year to become West Brom's principal shirt sponsor over a two-year period. Palm plans to build "a number of West Brom-themed eco sports towns in China as the links between club and company continue to grow." But club CEO Martin Goodman said that there are no plans to sell the naming rights to West Brom's "proud home for the past 117 years." Goodman: "That's not on the agenda at the moment. We would have to have a consultation with the fans if we were to go down that route" (BIRMINGHAM MAIL, 10/10).