Words: Michael Flynn
Image: Brisbane City FC

Brisbane City will play at The Corporate Travel Management Stadium in 2015 after securing a naming rights deal for their Newmarket home ground.

The naming rights deal is an historic first for City, with Corporate Travel Management’s partnership the largest sponsorship deal for the club in over a decade.

The company will also serve as City’s front of shirt sponsor for their PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland Senior Men, Youth Men and Under 18 sides in addition to back of shirt sponsor across City’s junior and academy teams.

City President, Sandra Di Francesco said the partnership will allow City to invest funds into their youth development programmes and training facilities as the club seeks to become a powerhouse of Queensland football.

“The level of corporate support offered by CTM puts us firmly on the path to engage with local and state governments to achieve our goals for facility improvements and expansion, and to secure the best coaching talent available,” Di Francesco said.

“The club can now commence its strategic improvement programs, with the goal of producing the highest quality of players capable of feeding into the A-league and national teams.”

“Our priority is to develop artificial training surfaces to allow for the club’s expansion in player numbers, and the ability to train 48 weeks of the year” she added.

CTM’s Founder and Managing Director, Jamie Pherous, said “Brisbane City FC is a great contributor to the local Brisbane community and to the footballing community in Queensland, and CTM is proud to be a part of that.”

“Football is the world game and Australia has a mass of talented young kids who punch above their weight, but we need to provide them with the best facilities and trainers to recognise and nurture that talent,” Pherous added.

Corporate Travel Management is an award-winning provider of innovative and cost effective travel management solutions to the corporate market and operates out of 37 cities in 15 countries across Australia, Asia, North America and New Zealand.

Brisbane City Sponsorship Committee Chairman David Asnicar welcomed the support and explained the partnership will provide benefit to all club members going forward.

“By showing sponsors value and showing them we are portraying their brand amongst the footballing community then it’s a significant incentive for them to remain as sponsors of the club and support our plans going forward,” Asnicar said.

“One of our strategies for CTM in particular is to encourage our members and other sponsors who run small businesses to use CTM services and try and provide reciprocal business back to them.”

Asnicar also said the additional brand exposure that comes with success in both PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland and Westfield FFA Cup will be a key aim of the club in 2015.

“One of the aims of the club is go deep into the FFA Cup. That will give our sponsors the increased exposure to their brands so they see Brisbane City Football Club as a significant value proposition when they look at their overall marketing budgets,” he concluded.

The Corporate Travel Management Stadium was completed in 1981 when City competed in the former National Soccer League.

Club sources stated the main stand will retain its designation as the Gino Merlo Stand in acknowledgement of the influential former club president.