By Mark Baber
June 20 – Beşiktaş has signed a preliminary agreement with Vodafone Türkiye for shirt sponsorship and naming rights to the team’s new stadium. The final agreement, which is expected to be signed shortly, is expected to be worth €20 million annually.
Demolition work has already started on the old Fiyapı İnönü Stadium with a new €120 million, 42,000 capacity stadium to be built on the same site.
Besiktas president Fikret Orman said: “The Besiktas stadium project is most valuable in terms of guaranteeing the club’s future. It will not only host football games, but also international events. The capacity will be increased and it will become one of the world’s most modern stadiums. This will guarantee the future of the stadium and Beşiktaş’s earnings will increase. Vodafone is a valuable global brand, and this agreement will benefit Besiktas and we believe also add value to Turkish football.”
Talks over the sponsorship have reportedly been going on for some time and are expected to be finalised by the end of this month. The stadium is not expected to lose the name Inönü, with speculation that it will be named the Vodafone Inönü Stadium or possibly the Inönü Vodafone Stadium.
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