Thunderclap in the already gray sky of the Matmut Atlantique stadium in Bordeaux, scene of the sporting and economic collapse of the Girondins. Faced with the downgrading of the Bordeaux football club, the mutual insurance company Matmut has decided to throw in the towel: it will not renew the naming contract which allows it to give its name to the stadium. Signed with the stadium operator, the private company Stade Bordeaux Atlantique (SBA), the contract runs until July 2025. After this date, the stadium can no longer be called Matmut Atlantique.
SBA does not comment on the situation, but Bordeaux Métropole, owner of Matmut, confirms having been informed of the non-renewal of the naming contract. The mutual insurance company also confirmed this Thursday, December 5: “After 10 seasons together, Matmut announced to SBA eighteen months before the contract expired that its support would end at the end of the 2024 season- 2025. However, discussions have since taken place between the two parties. The situation of the stadium and in particular the absence of consistent recurring visibility, did not make it possible to construct a draft new agreement satisfactory for the parties. Matmut therefore confirms that it will not enter into a new naming contract, following the end of the current one. »
A loss of 1.9 million euros per year
This contract brings SBA 1.9 million euros each year. Knowing that the operation of Matmut is structurally loss-making (despite a very good 2023 financial year), the loss of the naming will further degrade the economy of a stadium which, until now, has never found its balance. The operator knows that it is almost impossible to find another “namer” to replace Matmut, with a resident club that does not play at the highest level.
This is one more uncertainty that the two partners, SBA and Bordeaux Métropole, will have to manage. The first considers that the PPP contract (public-private partnership) makes any profitability inaccessible, due to heavier operating costs than what was planned in the contract. An imbalance which was recognized by the conciliation procedure initiated in 2023. For its part, Bordeaux Métropole believes that the descent into hell of the Girondins is reshuffling the cards: certain unforeseen charges are indeed weighing down operations, but others have diminished. The two partners will have to come to an agreement quickly.
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