The LaLiga football club, Atlético Madrid, has announced a partnership with Spanish property developer, Civitas as its new stadium naming rights holder, as well as revealing plans for a new sports city project.
Civitas will take over the naming rights for the next ten years, succeeding the Chinese corporation Wanda, who has held the position since the 2017-18 season.
The venue will now be recognised as the ‘Civitas Metropolitano,’ verifying earlier reports in the Spanish press that the corporation was poised to take over the naming rights earlier this month.
According to those reports, the Civitas agreement would be worth more than the €10 million ($10.4 million) per year paid by Wanda over the course of the five-year agreement.
Including the change in stadium naming rights sponsor, Atlético Madrid have confirmed the development of a new ‘Sports City’ concept plan encompassing the club’s stadium, on property designated as the premises for the city of Madrid’s Olympic Park.
The team and the town council introduced the project, which will be jointly developed with Civitas, that will lend its estate knowledge and experience to an endeavour which will include the construction of an elevated training complex for Atlético Madrid, as well as a 6,000-capacity stadium that will accommodate matches of the club’s women’s and men’s B teams, as well as contests in the UEFA Youth League.
Furthermore, a completely separate patch of land would be used for commercial reasons, including the construction of a hotel.
Besides football, the location will host paddle tennis, surfing, skateboarding, and athletics.
Atlético Madrid President, Enrique Cerezo, said, “Today we present an innovative initiative, with a city objective: that Madrid become a reference in the fields of sport and sustainability.”
Civitas’ financial backing to the club highlights the responsibility of a sustainability partner, with the company on the Sports City project focusing on coordinating the project with environmental sustainability.
Atlético Madrid recently signed a significant new shirt sponsorship agreement with the cryptocurrency investment app, WhaleFin.