Town chief executive Simon Clegg says the club is still open to the idea of stadium sponsorship. The Blues first expressed an interest in selling the naming rights to Portman Road a decade ago with the ground coming close to becoming the TXU Stadium before the former club sponsors went into administration.

Clegg says the additional income from Portman Road being renamed after a sponsor would be more than useful as Championship clubs start to move towards a break-even model: “From my point of view, particularly in the context of Financial Fair Play, I’m never going to say never.

“I’ve got a business responsibility to explore every commercial opportunity that gets presented to this football club.

“I’m well aware what’s happened at Newcastle [who renamed St James’ Park the Sports Direct Arena] in the last year and the impact that has had on the fans, but I have a commercial responsibility to this organisation to ensure I can do whatever is right and appropriate to this club to give us a competitive advantage.

“And if that means bringing in additional commercial sponsors in whatever field it might be, including if necessary naming rights to the ground, that’s something that I have to explore.

“I’m not committing to doing it and let me assure you the budget requirement would considerably greater than individual stand sponsorships. But it’s not something I would close my mind to as a complete non-starter ever.”

He says he is yet to hold talks with any parties interested in sponsoring the stadium and would insist that any deal was for a very lengthy period: “I think in terms of naming rights for a stadium you’re looking for much longer than you might require for stand sponsorship, a big commitment.

“We need to recognise that sponsorship budgets are tight out there at the moment. A lot of money has been spent on the Olympics. A lot of large corporates have spent huge sums of money on the Olympics and things are tight out there.

“But we will continue to explore all avenues for generating additional income because it potentially provides us with a competitive advantage over some of the other 23 clubs that we’re trying to beat to get into the Premier League.”

Photo: Action Images

itfcjoe added 06:10 - Jul 11 Would the last person to leave PR please turn out the lights
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fwisablue added 06:15 - Jul 11 The "Simon Clegg Power Arena" ?
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Len_Brennan added 06:21 - Jul 11 Don't like it, but stadium sponsorship is a reality of modern day football & sport in general. Whether it happens or not I won't be referring to the ground by a sponsor's name.
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hulltractor added 06:49 - Jul 11 If it brings in revenue then I don't see it as a bad idea. However I will always refer to it as Portman Road as the Geordies will always refer to their stadium as St James ' Park.
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RonFearonsHair added 06:52 - Jul 11 Doesn't matter a jot to me. It's not like they can change what I call it.
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floridaboy added 07:01 - Jul 11 The CostCutters Stadium The Poundland Stadium The Tampax Arena NO! Will still be Portman Road!!
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Suffolk_n_Good added 07:02 - Jul 11 What about approaching The Portman Group?! Or Portman Travel?! Or any other company with the name Portman in it!
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PeekFreans added 07:02 - Jul 11 The ONLY consideration here should be this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/69384657@N03/7542019854/in/photostream In all seriousness, NO WAY
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irishtim added 07:28 - Jul 11 Always be portman road.
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davidsc1971 added 07:32 - Jul 11 I'm surprised it hasn't been renamed the Marcus Evans Arena already!
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CreamCrazy added 07:41 - Jul 11 It'll always be Portman Road regardless of whatever sponsored name it is... if the ground is given a sponsor name it won't bother me in the slightest. It'll still be the same ground owned by the same club, changing the name won't change that.
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Vexorg added 07:46 - Jul 11 Exactly. Unless they're going to change the street name nothing changes. Technically the ground has no name, unlike Wes tHam for example. Boleyn ground but always know by its location - Upton Park. If someone wants to waste their money and add a name I say take it
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Keaneish added 08:04 - Jul 11 Let's change the colour of our kit to yellow too...
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dirtydingusmagee added 08:14 - Jul 11 got to be careful with this idea, money isnt everything ,The Dr Whites Stadium dosnt roll off the tongue like Portman Rd ,and wouldnt the the Carrow Rd lot be chuffed it we played at The Andrex Stadium .
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brockleyblueboy added 08:29 - Jul 11 Watch the anti-cleggs howel at the moon at this story. All their narrow little minds will see is "Clegg....name change...Olympics..." As many people have already said even if it did get a sponsor it will always be Portman Road, to us and the generations that will be. We have to be realistic with te economic crisis that the UK and the world is facing. If naming rights bring in extra cash so we can compete then why not. I think the majority of posters on here are intelligent enough to see that the benfits far outway the negatives. I can see a lot of clubs falling hard in the next few years and Rangers will be the start of it, sad as it is. Clegg and Evans and co are positioning us as a club to be in as strong a position as possible on and off the pitch with what resources we have.

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IpsRich added 08:39 - Jul 11 Several mentions of supporters as 'customers' in the Co-Op news story, now we're an 'organisation'. No real problem with the club pursuing sponsorship options for the stadium (its not a new idea) - either way I'll always call it FPR. But I'm bored and get slowly annoyed by how much business BS is spouted by ITFC now. I work five days a week and hear this talk all the time. I'm not interested in hearing the same stuff trotted out by "my" football club.

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RevAdrian added 08:39 - Jul 11 I am not normally and anti-Clegg - nor pro-Clegg poster - but Mr Clegg's words rather, I think, give away why he is perceived in such a poor light in some places. 'I've got a business responsibility to explore every commercial opportunity that gets presented to this football club'. OK but why no mention of other aspects? OK, he also says, “I'm well aware what's happened at Newcastle [who renamed St James' Park the Sports Direct Arena] in the last year and the impact that has had on the fans, but I have a commercial responsibility to this organisation to ensure I can do whatever is right and appropriate to this club to give us a competitive advantage." That little word 'but' is very important. What, Mr Clegg, would have been wrong with saying 'at the same time'? That way we might have got the impression that you understood the need to balance the two things - not simply sweep aside other concerns.

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mugsykets added 08:40 - Jul 11 'Keaneish' ~ Now, hang on...! What about 'Carlsberg Stadium - probably the best club in the world' or 'Redbull - gives you wings' (or is that Tampax?) or 'We buy any player.com' or 'Viagra stadium - help us rise up' or 'Mr Kipling - an exceedingly good club' etc. Incidentally, I've heard that Carrow Road is to be named after General Pinochet - He used to round people up in football stadiums and torture them! I'm here all week.

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buryblue77 added 09:02 - Jul 11 Personally I don't see the problem. Yes it will always be Portman Road in my mind but if sponsoring the stadium brings extra revenue in the world of FFP then what's the problem? A good idea for the naming of the stadium would be to include Portman (Road) in the name, so say Marcus Evans sponsored it then it should become The Marcus Evans Portman Stadium. Everyone will still call it Portman Road anyway and we get more money, no brainer!

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tractaboy added 09:22 - Jul 11 Don't see why we don't go for a second shirt sponsor like Swindon and others have. Think their main shirt sponsor was fourfourtwo on the front, but had a FIFA game on the back. That way Marcus gets to keep his name in big letters, and extra cash comes in. This job's easy Clegg!
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Lightningboy added 09:26 - Jul 11 I will always call it Portman Road unless they ever decided to rename the place the Sir Bobby Robson Stadium....let's hope we don't sell out.
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itfchorry added 09:41 - Jul 11 Poor old Guam
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Kesgraveblue57 added 09:52 - Jul 11 Buryblue77 you just said all I was going to say it's only name like you it will aways Portman Road to me, yes a no brainer Mr Clegg go do it.
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TractorCam added 09:54 - Jul 11 Leave it Portman Road clegg!
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forensic_bloo added 09:59 - Jul 11 There are a lot of people stating they will always call it Portman Road, but how many people still refer to the South Stand / Greene King Stand as Churchmans?? Over a few years, attitudes will change, new fans will come in not knowing anything different, and eventually, (in about 10-12 years seemingly) the ground will be the "insert multinational tax avoidance company name here" stadium to the majority of fans. Whether it's right or wrong, well, that's down to your own opinions

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