Slovan Bratislava’s opinion on the decision to lease the advertising name of ZŠ Ondrej Nepela to TIPOS – Športky.sk

Illustrative photo Source: TASR/Pavel Neubauer BRATISLAVA – HC SLOVAN Bratislava is disappointed by the decision of the city council on September 29 to lease the marketing name of the Ondrej Nepela Winter Stadium to TIPOS. To the capital of the Slovak Republic Bratislava and its municipal contribution organization We present the opinion of HC SLOVAN Bratislava in its full text and without editorial changes: The capital of the SR Bratislava and its municipal contribution organization Správa hovíhovných a krekrečnách začítění hlavlmeště (STaRZ), which manages the winter stadium, managed to in the world of sports marketing and the so-called “naming rights” of partnerships, a truly unusual and at the same time, unfortunately, completely incomprehensible step: to name a sports arena without any participation of a sports club, which brings a substantial part of the sports and marketing product to this arena with its matches and overall activity, and which, as the main tenant of this arena from In June 2011, he paid several million euros in rent and services connected with the use of the arena to the city budget. Apart from this – to put it mildly – very unconventional way of dealing with the relationship between the marketing rights to the home stadium and the main tenant and product carrier, this decision and the subsequent actions of STaRZ can seriously threaten the ability of HC SLOVAN Bratislava to continue to stay at the Ondrej Nepela Winter Stadium as the main tenant and thus bring an attractive sports experience to one of the most hockey halls in Europe. As is generally known, the general partner of the club is the Niké company, with which the club has signed a long-term contract. Also thanks to this partnership, HC SLOVAN Bratislava is able to pay an amount approaching one million euros annually for the use of the winter stadium by its A team, B team and eleven other children and youth categories. It is natural that a marketing investment at the level of a general partner almost automatically assumes exclusivity in a given segment, which in this case is sports betting and gambling. The decision of the city council and the subsequent placement of advertisements of the new bearer of the advertising name in the exterior as well as in the interiors of the arena may lead to a fundamental reduction in sponsorship income from our general partner, for example when the option is exercised. At the same time, the new shareholders of HC SLOVAN Bratislava – in addition to the fact that immediately after the purchase of the club in the summer of 2020 they settled all its obligations towards the city and regularly pay all payments related to the use of the arena on time – already informed the arena administrator one and a half years ago about the interest of several other partners in rental of the advertising name of the arena. This interest was quite understandably clearly generated by the fact that the arena is above all the traditional home place of Slovan Bratislava hockey players, who during the season will play around 40 home games in it in the highest Slovak league, as well as in international competitions, most recently in the Champions Hockey League. Among the applicants for the advertising name of the arena were several companies, e.g. a multinational technological leader in the processing of global payments by payment cards, which in the tender process would be prepared to pay the city around 400,000 euros per year, i.e. twice the published amount, for the right to use the advertising name of the arena. Unfortunately, with the representatives of the city and STaRZ, the representatives of our club did not manage to reach any meaningful agreement on the division of this income, and STaRZ also rejected the club’s proposals to launch a tender procedure for renting the advertising name of the arena, which, in the opinion of Slovan’s shareholders, would be able to obtain better conditions for the remuneration for renting the name of the arena and ultimately more financial resources for the city budget and thus for the residents of Bratislava. Slovan Bratislava has been at Tehelno pol at the Ondrej Nepel Winter Stadium since 1940, i.e. more than eighty years of its century-long history. This sanctuary of Slovak hockey, but also of Slovak figure skating, on whose ice many world champions and Olympic champions grew up, has been named after the Slovak athlete of the twentieth century Ondrej Nepel for more than twenty years. Slovan Bratislava appreciates the contribution of TIPOS, the national lottery company, to support Slovak sports. Thanks to Tipos, the citizens of Slovakia can be proud of several Slovak Olympians and representatives in many sports. Unfortunately, Tipos must be aware of the circumstances under which it acquired the marketing right to use the advertising name of the Ondrej Nepela Winter Stadium. In this context, Slovan Bratislava unequivocally declares that it will continue to play its home matches at the Ondrej Nepela Winter Stadium, and not at the Tipos Arena. Author: © Zoznam Source: Press release