Hisense Arena: Electronics giant gets 'free advertising' at Australian Open as contract expires
Posted
A giant Chinese home appliance company is receiving major advertising and international brand exposure at one of the Australian Open's major stadiums, despite its name rights contract expiring six months ago.
For nearly 10 years one of Melbourne Park's major stadiums has been called Hisense Arena, with the Chinese company paying for the naming rights.
But those rights expired in July last year.
The 10,000 capacity arena still carries the name and is referred to as Hisense Arena in match guides and throughout the media.
Last week the ABC revealed 20 per cent of the stadium's exterior was covered in dangerous combustible cladding, which will be removed in the next 12 months.
Officials have assured the public the arena is safe.
Following the story, Hisense Australia issued the ABC a short statement.
"Hisense Australia confirms it did not renew its naming rights agreement of the multi-purpose arena in Melbourne and Olympic Parks, formerly known as Hisense Arena, which terminated July 1, 2017,'' a spokeswoman said.
"Hisense decided not to renew its naming agreement for business and strategic reasons, including a continued focus on new sponsorship opportunities in 2018, such as a global sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup."
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios on Saturday said the court was his favourite to play on at the Grand Slam tournament.
"I definitely feel comfortable on Hisense Arena," he said.
In a short statement, Melbourne & Olympic Parks and Tennis Australia said: "The current contract has come to an end and the next steps have begun. All involved were aware of the timing."
A push last year emerged for Australian tennis legends to be honoured with the stadium to follow in the tradition of Rod Laver and Margaret Court Arena, although the latter's moniker has been challenged in recent years due to Court's views on same-sex marriage.
Topics: sport, advertising, advertising-and-marketing, melbourne-3000, vic
