SUNDERLAND have renewed their bid to sell the naming rights to the Stadium of Light – with a promotional LinkedIn video boasting about hosting a Spice Girls concert.
SunSport revealed in April the Black Cats were looking for a sponsor for their ground and were in talks with an energy firm and a betting company.
Sunderland director Charlie Methven then claimed the club were close to completing a multi-year deal for the Stadium of Light to be renamed for the start of the new season.
Negotiations, though, stalled with the Black Cats unsure of what division they would be playing in and with owner Stewart Donald on the verge of selling his majority stake to businessman Mark Campbell.
But Sunderland, who lost in the League One play-off final, have now started searching again for the first Stadium of Light sponsor – this time with the help of a 150-second marketing film.
Mark Moisley, the club’s head of revenue, posted the video on social-networking site LinkedIn and has also been sending it to potential partners.
The film begins by boasting how Netflix documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die put the Black Cats “into over 60 million homes”.
It states that over 665 hours of broadcasting comes from the Stadium of Light and flags the ground as a “leading music venue” which recently hosted the Spice Girls.
The timing of the promotional push is strange given the four-person consortium takeover led by Campbell is expected to be completed this week.
Current chief Donald will keep a small stake but new staff will be appointed in key positions and will have their own ideas about how to bring extra venue into the club.
On the playing side of things, boss Jack Ross has been told his job is safe, while former Celtic chief scout John Park is set to come in as director of football.
