Páirc Uí Chaoimh affair shows unsophisticated nature of stadium naming rights in Ireland

It started with Cavan’s Breffni Park in 2002, but no matter how it plays out in Cork the practice of naming rights on GAA stadiums won’t end with Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 2024.

The subject of stadium rebranding is a complex one for the GAA, because the proliferation of legacy names linked to individuals rather than places is not an issue with which all sports organisations around the world have to contend.

For instance, there would be a stark difference between a rebranding of Tallaght Stadium compared to sticking a new badge over the door at Markievicz Park. Whether it be a founding member of the GAA or local heroes of 1916, the links to historically significant figures make renaming GAA stadiums an emotive and tricky affair.

The GAA’s solution to the problem so far has been to design hybrid names – FBD Semple Stadium, Netwatch Cullen Park, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, Hastings Insurance MacHale Park. A bit of both worlds, but the best of neither.

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Of the 32 counties on the island, currently 16 county grounds have commercial deals in relation to naming rights. That number is expected to increase over the coming years – only last month Waterford chairman Seán Michael O’Regan admitted they were hoping to attract a partner to sponsor the recently upgraded Walsh Park.

“Quite simply, we are looking at naming rights for Walsh Park,” he told the Waterford News & Star.

The first such commercial agreement for a GAA stadium in Ireland occurred in 2002 when Kingspan sponsored Breffni Park in Cavan. The actual name would eventually be whittled down to two words – Kingspan Breffni.

“The whole area of naming rights in Ireland is still relatively unsophisticated, with the GAA and League of Ireland in particular,” says an industry expert.

“It can be a bit of a badging exercise with no long-term strategic plan. Clubs or counties will take whatever they can, do a two or three-year deal without fully teasing out if the partnership is a good fit, instead they’ll slap a name up on the stadium and then a couple of years later you might have a new company in on another short-term deal. The science would say you need between five to seven years to make it stick.”

It has been indicated negotiations between the Cork County Board and SuperValu were working towards a five-to 10-year arrangement, but the name over the door has proved to be the major stumbling block.

The compromise Cork GAA followers seem willing to accept is SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, with SuperValu Páirc appearing to be a non-runner. However, does a five-word label carry the same value for the retailer?

One of the only few comparative titles has been Leitrim’s Avant Money Páirc Sean MacDiarmada.

And how do SuperValu feel they were portrayed over recent days? Musgraves, which was founded in Cork in 1876 is its parent company, so this is a business with its roots deep in Leeside.

Also, having agreed to contribute approximately €250,000 per annum to the coffers of Cork GAA, and as one of the country’s largest employers, what did they make of the intervention from Tánaiste Micheál Martin?

“Deeply disappointed & annoyed at the proposal to change the name of Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Pádraig Uí Chaoimh was a key figure in the formation of the GAA at club and national level. Govt allocated €30m towards the development of the stadium and never sought naming rights,” he posted on social media.

In reality, rebranding Páirc Uí Chaoimh as SuperValu Páirc might have been viewed as a more agreeable proposal had the deal been done by Cork GAA before the ribbon was cut on the redeveloped stadium, rather than putting it forward seven years after reopening.

“If the RDS was knocked down and rebuilt, they would be looking for a naming rights partner as soon as the bulldozers go in,” says an industry source.

“In a very broad sense, when considering a standalone name of a brand on a stadium versus the name of a brand on a stadium along with a legacy name attached, are the values the same?”

Ultimately, there remains a sense on Leeside that Cork and SuperValu will come to a workable agreement.

And over the coming years more GAA stadiums will enter commercial rebranding arrangements, though navigating the emotional tinderbox of not dishonouring legacy names will be a challenge.

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