We’re going canoeing at, er, Tesco
January 26th, 2012
Tesco's canoeing partnership
Supermarket giant Tesco, already a sponsor of British canoeing through a two-year deal announced in 2010, is believed to be close to securing the post-Olympic Games naming rights for the Lee Valley whitewater centre. The centre, which will be the venue for canoe slalom at London 2012, is near Tesco’s company headquarters in Cheshunt.
According to an article in the Independent, Tesco is expected to pay some £5m for the naming rights to the centre. The British slalom team will be based at the centre after the Games.
Currently the canoeing centre is run by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Securing naming rights means the centre’s financial future looks more secure. The park authority wants the venue to be making a profit by 2014. It will also be hosting the 2015 World Canoe Slalom Championships.
Selling naming rights is key to ensuring the future financial security of Olympic Games venues and a way of avoiding facilities becoming ‘white elephants’. Most canoeing figures in the UK say that Lee Valley facility (or the “Tesco Clubcard Every Little Helps Canoe Course” as it probably won’t be known) will become a magnet for canoeists in the UK and a surefire way of developing the sport in the south-east after the Olympic Games are over.
Categories: Olympic Canoeing
