Stacatruc Stadium, Thatcham
Thatcham Town FC vs. Andover New Street FC
The Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round
The opening scene inward the 1998 sports comedy celluloid BASEketball satirised the state of American sports at the time: "Soon it was commonplace for entire teams to modify cities inwards search of greater profits," says the narrator. "The Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles where at that place are no lakes. The Oilers moved to Tennessee where in that location is no fossil oil. The Jazz moved to Salt Lake City where they don't allow music."
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| Cup magic begins at |
And whilst that practise is less commonplace in British sport for the nearly office (insert lazy MK Dons reference here), it foreshadowed a growing tendency that fifty-fifty United Kingdom couldn't resist getting involved inwards. Naming rights.
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| The seated stand up offers spectacular views of the playing field. |
"Stadiums too arenas became cipher more than than giant billboards to promote commercial products," they said alongside stadium outside shots of the fictional Preparation H Arena too Maxi Tampon Stadium.
Back in 1998, teams heading to places similar the Emirates Stadium, World of Smile Stadium together with the Tony Macaroni Arena was nevertheless a few years away. Very few British sporting venues had realised the commercial value inward selling the cite of their arena for an slowly flake of cash injection.
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| At least the telephone indicate is practiced cheers to these masts. |
Nowadays it'second commonplace, near every novel stadium as well as arena that goes up has around sort of a corporate tie-upwardly as a advert. Traditional names take been replaced amongst the advert alongside virtually whatsoever kind of society y'all tin can mean of. And inward a fourth dimension where coin downward the pyramid is getting tighter, not league footballs take joined in on the do.
One of the latest existence Thatcham Town, of the Southern League Division one South, who signed a 2 year naming rights bargain inward the summer to set an finish to the long standing as well as traditional Waterside Park name.
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| A crowd of 240 packed into the earth to sentinel Thatcham dismantle Andover New Street. |
And when major new stadiums sign a multi-one thousand thousand pound deal amongst global corporations, how amend to nub upward the glamour non league football past calling your stadium the Stacatruc Stadium. Stacatruc are manifestly known for "character forklift hire too forklifts inwards Berkshire & Hampshire", only I cannot confirm this since I know zippo near forklifts.
Not that there'second anything wrong with this, of grade. With the ongoing issues plaguing League one, it's important for clubs, specially the smaller ones, to make whatsoever they tin can to take inwards enough revenue to live.
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| The Stacatruc stand? |
So if Stacatruc assistance a team like Thatcham last for longer and then I'1000 all for it. It'sec a overnice picayune earth, easily locatable from the develop fifty-fifty on i leg, even if you can't potable pitchside (but it helps when you lot win vii-1 as well).
And if Reading want to change the advert of the Madejski Stadium to the Maxi Tampon Stadium, and so so live it. It's not "selling its someone", it'second merely a name.
Useless data most Stacatruc Stadium
Address: Crookham Hill, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG19 4PA
Capacity: 1,500
Pitch Type: Grass
Ticket Price: £9
Programme: £2, 28 pages
