Christian Estrosi held a press conference this morning at the reception pavilion of the Allianz Riviera, the official name of Nice’s new stadium. Accompanied by Xavier Lortat-Jacob (president of Nice Éco Stadium) and Jacques Richier (CEO of Allianz France), the deputy mayor of Nice did not hide his enthusiasm.
We announced it to you this morning. It is now official: the new stadium of Nice will be named “Allianz Riviera.” This name is directly inspired by the naming contract signed by Nice Éco Stadium (a subsidiary of Vinci concessions) with Allianz France. The cost of this partnership amounts to 1.8 million euros over nine years (a total of 16.2 million euros, excluding activation fees).
During a press conference held at the reception pavilion of Allianz Riviera, Christian Estrosi did not hide his satisfaction: “As Mayor of Nice, I am very proud that Allianz has chosen us. After the Allianz Arena in Munich and the Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Australia, we will have the Allianz Riviera (sic).”
The same sentiment was echoed by the president of Nice Éco Stadium, Xavier Lortat-Jacob, who believes that “the connection with Allianz France is logical and happened naturally. We immediately found common values.”
Rivère and Estrosi in agreement on image
Arriving at the sidelines of the press conference, the president of OGC Nice Jean-Pierre Rivère — whose club will be a tenant of the Allianz Riviera from 2013 — welcomes this naming: “A namer like Allianz can suggest positive outcomes. But at OGC Nice, we work step by step. This new stadium will allow us to enhance the club’s image to gain greater prominence.”
Image is precisely Christian Estrosi’s focus, as he has made sports in Nice one of his top commitments: “Allianz Riviera is a name that perfectly corresponds to the image of Nice Côte-d’Azur [editor’s note: of which he is the president]. I would never have accepted a commercial brand that could have been damaging to our image.” Some cities where the stadium bears a commercial brand image might appreciate this stance.
