Scunthorpe United have announced that Glanford Park will now be called the Sands Venue Stadium after the club signed a naming rights deal.
Scunthorpe’s home, which was built in 1988 and was the first new all-purpose football stadium built in England for thirty-three years, will now be known as the Sands Venue Stadium. The name comes after the club signed a deal with Sands Venue Resort Hotel in Blackpool, which is owned by the Swann family, who also own the Iron.
Club chairman Peter Swann commented on the deal on the club’s official website and said: ‘We’re really excited about the upcoming opening of our Sands Venue Hotel which will provide a boost to Blackpool’s local economy and create a number of new jobs for the area.’
‘The stadium naming rights of the football stadium create fantastic domestic and international exposure for the Sands Venue brand, so it’s a perfect fit for us as we look to continue to invest in these two towns.’
‘The deal shows we remain committed to Scunthorpe and we’re pleased to be able to continue supporting the town’s football club with a sponsorship deal of this magnitude.’
Commercial deals over stadium naming rights are commonplace in football these days, and most Iron fans seem to take the news in their stride when they descended on social media. Many commented that it would make no difference and they will still call their home Glanford Park. Unsurprisingly others responded with humour based on the new name while others questioned the rights and wrongs of doing a deal with another company owned by the Swann family, especially one based one hundred and thirty miles away in Blackpool.
Here is a selection of their responses to the news on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/sifoulerfowler/status/1156218465352658950?s=20
https://twitter.com/robhinch/status/1156448787088515073?s=20
https://twitter.com/LancsIron/status/1156209309916770304?s=20
https://twitter.com/beckandcallfc/status/1156210693143748608?s=20
https://twitter.com/markdonnyiron/status/1156282842860654592?s=20
https://twitter.com/jimpalmer38/status/1156209814831280128?s=20
https://twitter.com/AshleyIain4/status/1156245777099952128?s=20
https://twitter.com/AshleyIain4/status/1156231856540532736?s=20
https://twitter.com/Highside19/status/1156259537973841920?s=20
