Millennium Stadium to be renamed Principality Stadium following multi-million sponsorship deal
The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff is to be renamed following a multi-million pound 10 year sponsorship deal with Principality Building Society.
From January 2016 the stadium will be named the Principality Stadium after a deal between the Cardiff-based building society and the Welsh Rugby Union.
As the tie-up does not come into effect until January next year, the 74,154 capacity stadium will still be the Millennium Stadium for the 2015 World Cup. The rebranding will be seen for the first time at the Wales' 2016 Six Nations game with Scotland on Saturday, 13 February.
The 2017 UEFA Champions League final follows on from this and will see Principality Building Society’s brand present on the world stage; last year’s final in Berlin was viewed by over 180 million people in over 200 territories.
Principality Building Society has had a brand presence in sport since 2001 when it agreed to sponsor the WRU's main knock-out cup competition and later signed a deal to become the ten-year title sponsor of the Premiership division in Wales.
The ground, which has been known as the Millennium Stadium since it opened in 1999, is estimated to generate more than £130m for the local economy each year.
Welsh Rugby Union chairman Gareth Davies described the Principality Building Society as “a great supporter of the game” and said it was “highly appropriate that one of our principal partners now has even stronger links with Welsh rugby through these naming rights."
The deal is also expected to help WRU’s debt which stood at £15m according to its last financial accounts in 2014.