France: naming validated for the Adidas Arena in Paris, esplanade to be named after Alice Milliat

The Paris City Council has validated (33 votes in favour, 17 against and 26 abstentions) the naming contract between the Société d'exploitation Palais Omnisport de Paris-Bercy (SAE POPB) and the German equipment manufacturer adidas, which will give its name to the Arena 2 built at Porte de la Chapelle in Paris (18^th arrondissement) on 08/07/2022.

The 8,000 capacity Olympic stadium will therefore be named the Adidas Arena as soon as it opens in 2023. "In return, adidas France will pay an overall annual price of €2,602,000 excluding VAT for the period of operation (2023-2028), of which €2,320,000 excluding VAT is for naming rights in the strict sense and €282,000 excluding VAT is for activation and catering services. The proposed amount is without equivalent in France, or even in Europe, for arenas of similar dimensions," states Paris City Council's deliberation report. The initial project aimed for €1.1m in revenue via a naming rights agreement.

The German equipment manufacturer refused to allow its logo to be simply associated with the name "Arena Alice-Milliat" (named after the…