By Mark Baber
July 30 – Premier League newcomers AFC Bournemouth have agreed a stadium naming rights deal with health care provider Vitality, part of South Africa-based Discovery Limited. The 11,700-capacity Dean Court, the smallest ground ever in the Premier League, will be called the Vitality Stadium.
The new sponsorship, no figure has been released for the deal, was celebrated with the heralding of their “perfect synergy partnership” which the newly promoted club hopes will be the “beginning of a long, happy and successful relationship.”
Club chairman Jeff Mostyn (pictured left) and Vitality’s CEO Neville Koopowitz (pictured right with Bournemouth mamager Eddie Howe centre) agreed the deal which which builds on Vitality’s official “wellness partnership” with the club and its principal partnership of AFC Bournemouth’s Community Sports Trust.
According to Mostyn: “To actually get a sponsor who is interested in helping our community – as opposed to just putting their name over a door and looking for the global recognition we are all expecting through the Premier League coverage – is extremely refreshing and we hope rewarding for both organisations.”
He added: “Our desire is to promote longevity. Both longevity in terms of the relationship we have with our business partners – like Vitality – and also longevity in terms of our status in the Premier League.
“We are trying to look at the infrastructure of the ground. That will be a long-lasting legacy for this football club. That is something we are immensely proud of. Irrespective of what the future holds – we know the season will be a challenge, but we are up for a challenge like we always have been – it is all about longevity, security for the football club forever more, as opposed to the trials and tribulations that we’ve all experienced before.”
For Vitality, Koopowit, said Bournemouth is a core area of employment for staff and “we were way down the road of discussions before Bournemouth were promoted. We would still be sitting here today if history wasn’t the way it had gone.”
Vitality has a large number of sports sponsorships. “We believe in the power of sport to inspire people to live a healthier lifestyle, and that’s why we have embarked on these sponsorships,” said Koopowit.
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