April 21, 2016

Stoke's Britannia Stadium to be called 'bet365 Stadium' from 2016-17

Stoke City have announced that the Britannia Stadium will be known as the bet365 Stadium from the start of the 2016-17 Premier League season.

The club are owned by bet365, the world's largest online gambling company, and have signed up to an initial six-year stadium naming rights agreement as well as a three-year extension to their shirt sponsorship deal.

"The Premier League is constantly evolving and to ensure that Stoke City remain as competitive as possible it's important we explore as many ways as possible of generating revenue," Stoke City chief executive Tony Scholes said.

"As supporters are no doubt aware the Britannia brand no longer exists and it was important that we attracted a new stadium naming rights partner.

"The Premier League is watched around the world and bet365 are a truly global company. We are delighted that we have been able to reach an agreement with them over the stadium naming rights for an initial six year period, along with the extension of their shirt sponsorship agreement.

"bet365 are taking over from Britannia and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Britannia and the Co-operative Bank for their tremendous support over the past 19 years.

"We also felt the time was right to redevelop the corner of the ground between the DPD and Marston's Pedigree Stands. Planning permission has been in place for some time but it was important we carried out the work when we felt the Club was ready for an increase in seat capacity."

John Coates, joint chief executive of bet365 and vice-chairman of Stoke City, added: "We have been looking to extend our portfolio of sports sponsorship and entering into a stadium naming rights agreement with Stoke City seemed a natural fit, especially as the city of Stoke-on-Trent is home to bet365.

"We are looking forward to what we hope will be a successful future for both the Club and bet365 with both organisations working closely together."

The Britannia Stadium has been the club's home since they left the Victoria Ground in 1997.

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