NAIROBI, Kenya, April 4- Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium is set for a major face lift after beverage company Coca-Cola and Sports Stadia Management Board (SSMB) agreed on a Sh24.5 ($306,250) million branding rights deal.
The one year agreement unveiled on Wednesday is a culmination of three years of protracted negotiations between the parties stemming from an earlier naming rights deal that was disowned by then Sports Minister Prof. Helen Sambili.
“Am pleased to announce that we have finally arrived at a mutually beneficial settlement for the two parties,” acting SSMB CEO Gabriel Komora told a press conference at the facility.
Under the partnership, Coca-Cola holds exclusive rights to brand the main stadium, aquatic centre as well as the basketball and handball courts.
“Upon termination of the earlier agreement we withdrew our claim to the naming rights but insisted on getting value for the money we had paid to SSMB, hence the two parties agreed to vary the original deal,” Peter Njonjo, the company’s General Manager for East Africa explained.
The beverage firm will not make any additional payment to SSMB since it had already paid a down payment of Sh16m for the original contract and spent additional expenses on refurbishment, billboards and signage worth about Sh8.5m.
Njonjo was optimistic that the agreement would help in their marketing strategy as the company continues to invest in the next generation of sports persons particularly through their Copa Coca Cola football tournament.
The previous contract was worth Sh98m and allowed the firm to hold exclusive branding, marketing, advertising and naming rights across all elements of the stadium besides renovating it to world class standards.
The new agreement will exclude international events of national interest and national holidays but the firm hopes they will re-visit the matter after the lapse of the one-year deal.
Nyayo Stadium is the second largest sporting facility in the country after the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
