German Bundesliga football club Schalke 04 has extended a naming-rights agreement for its stadium with the Veltins brewery and replaced long-serving kit partner Adidas with rival sportswear manufacturer Umbro.
The Veltins deal will run for 10 years, through to 2027, while Umbro’s partnership will begin in July 2018, although the length of the agreement was not disclosed.
As part of the naming-rights deal, Veltins will hold the pouring rights at the stadium until 2027. The Gelsenkirchen venue has been called the Veltins Arena since 2005, with Veltins having previously served as a principal club and team sponsor from 1997.
Schalke director of marketing Alexander Jobst said that the early renewal of the agreement highlighted the “durability and credibility” of the partnership. Veltins will provide every fan with a free beer on the first matchday of the 2017-18 season.
The Umbro deal will cover all of Schalke’s teams. The British sportswear brand will also become Werder Bremen’s kit partner from the 2018-19 season.
Jobst added: “Our decision-making over the last few months has had a focus on three core strategic points: reputation, profitability and identity. Umbro were the clear leaders in all three regards, which has led us to decide against extending our partnership with adidas and instead make the move to Umbro. We would like to express our sincere thanks to adidas for decades of successful co-operation.”