Stoke City News 24/7Writer: Chris Baldwin 
Date:Tuesday March 24 2009
Time: 9:14PM
UK time is: 23:02:43
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Stoke: is time up for the Britannia Stadium?
With the Britannia Building Society likely to merge with the Co-op Bank later this year, is this the end of the line for the Britannia Stadium?
The Leek based mutual building society has announced plans to merge with the Cooperative Bank and, if this happens, the Britannia name will disappear. They've paid up to £1m per year for the naming rights of the Brit since it was built back in 1997 and so it promises to be a big change for both fans and the club, even if the new combined financial institution continues it's sponsorship but under a new name. Along with the shirt sponsorship that's also backed by the Britannia it's sure to be causing some consternation amongst the commercial guys at the club.
With the credit crunch some clubs are having difficulty finding anyone prepared to spend the money. West Brom have had no shirt sponsor this season after T-Mobile pulled out last year and West Ham lost their sponsor for a time when the low-cost airline XL.com went bust.
Fans would probably be pleased if they could buy their shirts without having to be a walking advertising hoarding but there is no doubt that in this day and age the money it brings into the club is invaluable.
Whilst any change of shirt sponsor is not likely to trouble many fans unduly, a change in the stadium naming rights is likely to be met with dismay as the Britannia Stadium has become inextricably linked to Stoke City Football Club and is now a well known local landmark.
What do you think? Have your say below...
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Your Comments
This is where Arsenal have made a similar mistake. Our naming rights deal with Emirates only runs until 2018, at which point we will have to call our stadium something else. If Stoke or Arsenal were smart, they'd have done what Southampton did, they called their stadium the Friends Provident St. Mary's Stadium,knowing full well people would just call it St. Mary's. What Stoke should have done was to call it the Britannia Victoria Ground or something. I do however like the touch around your stadium of naming the roads after past players.
Little Dutch
This is where Arsenal have made a similar mistake. Our naming rights deal with Emirates only runs until 2018, at which point we will have to call our stadium something else. If Stoke or Arsenal were smart, they'd have done what Southampton did, they called their stadium the Friends Provident St. Mary's Stadium,knowing full well people would just call it St. Mary's. What Stoke should have done was to call it the Britannia Victoria Ground or something. I do however like the touch around your stadium of naming the roads after past players.
Little Dutch
Could we abandon sponsorhip of the stadium and just seek new sponsors for the shirts? As "Britannia" as a name predates the financial institution by hundreds (or thousands?) of years, could we just change the type face and keep the name Britannia? Of course it is possible that the Coop might decide to continue sponsorhip of the shirts using, possibly, the name "Coop Bank" or "Coop Mutual."
fornside
Could we abandon sponsorhip of the stadium and just seek new sponsors for the shirts? As "Britannia" as a name predates the financial institution by hundreds (or thousands?) of years, could we just change the type face and keep the name Britannia? Of course it is possible that the Coop might decide to continue sponsorhip of the shirts using, possibly, the name "Coop Bank" or "Coop Mutual."
fornside
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