Stadium naming rights sale would cost Brisbane golden branding opportunity

The naming rights to Brisbane’s Olympic stadium should never be sold to a corporate sponsor, the Games infrastructure review has warned.

An artist’s impression of Brisbane Stadium in Victoria Park for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. Source: Queensland government.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles. Give us your feedback.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles.

The naming rights to Brisbane’s Olympic stadium should never be sold to a corporate sponsor – no matter how much money is on the table – or the state will risk losing a golden branding opportunity, the Games infrastructure review has warned.

Brisbane Olympics delivery chief Stephen Conry – who chaired the Games Independent Infrastructure Co-ordination Authority’s 100-day review – said the Queensland capital should retain the naming rights of the main stadium in perpetuity.

“Why give the naming rights to a promotion entity for the promotion of their brand … when our city should benefit from that promotion?” Mr Conry told an industry event on Wednesday.

Premier David Crisafulli this week adopted Mr Conry’s recommendation that a $3.9bn ­taxpayer-funded 63,000-seat stadium be built at Victoria Park, in inner Brisbane, and also backed a proposal from Swimming Australia for a $650m national aquatics centre nearby to host the Olympic swimming events.

The GIICA review recommended that the main stadium be called “Brisbane Stadium” forever, on top of the Olympics ­period when “clean venue” rules mean all branding must be ­removed.

“Under this arrangement, commercial naming rights would not be made available, irrespective of the seemingly attractive remunerative arrangements which might be offered,” Mr Conry’s ­report said.

“Any financial sum offered to name a stadium is one which the city can afford to reject, as the sought-after value to any corporate entity is of much more value and importance to the city of Brisbane. The use of the name ‘Brisbane Stadium’ in conversations and media coverage nationally and globally before, during and after major events is a vital branding opportunity for Brisbane, which should not be given away.”

The Queensland government has not yet said what the new stadium would be called, or if the naming rights would be sold.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has announced his plan for a new Brisbane Stadium as the centrepiece of the 2032 Games.

Sunshine Coast-based brand and communications consultant Vanessa West backed the GIICA recommendation and said it was refreshing to see the concept of legacy extended beyond the physical bricks and mortar ­venues, to include the associated branding opportunities.

Ms West said Brisbane 2032 Olympics boss Andrew Liveris was right when he said Brisbane suffered from a lack of global brand recognition, and that ­needed to be built so future investors and tourists thought of the Queensland capital when making travel or business decisions after the Games.

“The Olympics and Paralympics represents our city’s largest advertising campaign ever – a 27-day global showcase that will build powerful memory structures in billions of minds worldwide,” Ms West said.

“Melbourne’s Docklands stadium example perfectly illustrates the problem with corporate naming rights. The constant rebranding from Colonial Stadium to Telstra Dome to Etihad Stadium to Marvel Stadium creates confusion and erodes recognition value. For international audiences who might hear ‘Brisbane Stadium’ during the Olympics, finding it’s been renamed ‘Company X Arena’ five years later breaks that valuable memory connection.”

GIICA recommended the proposed $2.5bn federally funded Brisbane Arena – an inner-city indoor venue originally designed to host the Olympic swimming in a drop-in pool – be named the “Gabba Arena”.

But that project has been cut from the Queensland government’s Olympic plans, and the opportunity to develop an arena on state-owned land next to the famous Gabba cricket and AFL stadium will be offered to private investors.