Bayern Munich strike multi-million deal with BMW for arena renaming / News - Basketnews.com

Bayern Munich's arena, previously known as the Audi Dome, has been renamed to BMW Park following the lucrative agreement signed between the German club and the Bavarian-based motor company.

Credit: FCBB, BMW Group Credit FCBB, BMW Group

Bayern Munich were slated to step up their investment in basketball from the upcoming season.

Just a few days after the EuroLeague announced that the lineup of the elite competition will be exactly the same as last year, the Munich-based club said that in the future it will be able to financially rely on the multinational company BMW.

However, everything starts with the new installation. The arena previously called the Audi Dome will be called BMW Park in the future.

The new naming of the original Rudi Sedlmayer Hall, which was built for the 1972 Olympic basketball tournament, is part of the comprehensive mobility partnership between BMW Munich and FC Bayern Basketball has been running since July 1st and was presented on Friday at a press conference in the BMW branch in Munich.

Another focus of the long-term cooperation is that BMW Munich will equip the players and the coaching staff of the five-time German champions with fully electric vehicles. FCBB managing director Marko Pesic and national player Andreas Obst received the first BMW iX models on behalf of the current cup winner.

This means that the FC Bayern basketball players will be able to travel in Munich emission-free in the future. Both partners will also pool their strengths off the court, assume responsibility for society and support charitable projects, especially in the Munich metropolitan region.

According to Bild, BMW AG initially bought the rights to the name of the Bayern Hall and thus pumped a total of 25,000,000 euros into the basketball club, which is broken down to 5 million annually. It is a five-year contract that represents only the beginning of cooperation between the two brands, the Bavarian club explained.

"This is a great partnership for us," said Bayern Managing Director Marko Pesic. But now we will not get into a race with the EuroLeague competitors like Real Madrid or the Istanbul teams. We cannot and do not want to do what they do. But in the long run, this deal helps us a lot," the 46-year-old executive said.

Pesic's plan is for Bayern to play in the new SAP Garden (available from the 2024-25 season) and in their old home, which is now called BMW Park.

Also read: New Bayern arena's construction halted due to fire

"It was and will always remain our house. We will not only operate the hall as a sports hall, but also try to develop it into an event venue. We want to bring in people who are not only interested in sports.“

FC Bayern Munich are scheduled to have their inaugural matches at BMW Park on September 16th and 17th, as part of a warm-up tournament preceding the upcoming season. Their first home game in the BBL will take place on Friday, September 29th, against Mitteldeutscher Basketball Club.

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