Stadiums: naming rights in France

The opening of the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice on 05/09/2013 will be a historic day for French football. OGC Nice are set to become the first team in Ligue 1 to have their stadium named after a sponsor .

The first instance of stadium naming in France occurred two and a half years ago. Le Mans, the Ligue 2 side, became the first team in French football with a named stadium, after the MMArena was opened on the 29/01/2011.

With naming proposals underway in Lille and Marseille, as well as further bids being tabled in Lyon and Bordeaux, France is catching up its European neighbours. Germany in particular are at the forefront of stadium naming: 16 of the 18 Bundesliga sides in 2012/13 have named stadiums.

In the early 20^th century, however, France were pioneers of stadium naming. Colombe racecourse was re-named 'Stade du Matin', from 1907 to 1919, when Parisian newspaper Le Matin became its new owners.  

Today, North America are the market leaders in the naming rights business. The United States and Canada make up about 50% of the global market with an estimated value of $1bn (€770m).