Search for Stadium MK sponsor on hold until the summer
Talks are being paused until the football season is wrapped up in May
Plans to find a naming partner for Stadium MK have been put on hold until the summer, but MK Dons are confident of going into next season with a deal wrapped up.
In December, the Citizen exclusively revealed plans by the club to sell the sponsorship rights to the ground at MK1, the arena and the National Bowl, as well as plans to have companies sponsor the four stands at Stadium MK.
With the team currently locked in a battle for automatic promotion, CEO Neil Hart said talks about securing a long-term partner to name the stadium were paused until the end of the season when more is known about where the side will ply their trade next year.
“We’re making progress, and there are still discussions ongoing,” he said. “There is lots of interest, lots of interested parties.
“The naming rights, we’d like to finish the season and achieve our objectives because that puts us in a different position. We’ve paused the naming rights until we have an outcome on the season so we’ll revisit it.
“We’re trying to package it with the arena as well, which is an important component too, and potentially the Bowl too. Because we’re packaging it as a group, and ideally with the front of the shirt as well, we’re looking for a partner to join us for a multitude of things.
“The stands are more straightforward, because they’re a local sell, so we’re further down the road with those.
“I’m confident for next season, we’ll have four new stand partners and all things being right a new naming rights partner as well.”
While the selling the naming rights had been discussed many years ago, plans to sponsor the stands too is untouched ground at MK1 but with it becoming a regular occurrence in football up and down the pyramid, Hart said: “To me, it’s normal and I’ve done it for many years. Every pound counts and contributes to us being able to fund the team. It’s our job to seek out every opportunity.
“Why would we not do it? The businesses we’re talking to are really enthusiastic about it and they’re proud to be a part of it.”