MLS: Audi (automobiles) acquires the naming rights to the future stadium of DC United, Audi Field

Audi, the German automobile manufacturer, has acquired the naming rights to the future stadium of DC United (MLS), on 15/02/2017. The 20,000 capacity enclosure, whose construction cost is estimated at $300m (€282.2m as of 16/02/2017) and scheduled to be inaugurated in 2018, will be called Audi Field. DC United have played in Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (variable capacity from 20,000 to 46,000 seats) since its debut in MLS in 1996.

Neither the length nor the financial details of the agreement were formally communicated. According to American media, Audi would pay $4m (€3.8m) per season to DC United, and the agreement would cover a period of between 10 and 15 years.

Audi has been the official automotive partner of Major League Soccer since the 2015 season, and until the end of fiscal year 2018. The brand belongs to the German automotive group Volkswagen, which was the main sponsor of the DC United shirt from 2008 to 2013. Audi holds the naming rights to another football stadium: Audi Sportpark (15,800 capacity), the enclosure of FC Ingolstadt 04 (Bundesliga), the club of which…