It is Kings Park again at last!

It is Kings Park again at last! After an 11- year hiatus and thanks to a magnanimous gesture by sponsors Mr Price, the spiritual home of Sharks and Natal rugby will again be known by the world renowned name it was christened with way back in 1956 when the stadium was built on council land loaned to the Natal Rugby Union for a period of 100 years.

Banking giants Absa bought the naming rights to the stadium in 1999 and after two five-year stints and a one-year add-on, they chose to end their association with the Sharks as they turn their attention to sponsoring the Springboks, who in turn have parted ways with SASOL.

Mr Price, the title sponsors of the Sharks, have beefed up their commitment to the Currie Cup champions by buying the naming rights to the stadium, and the first thing the fashion retailers did was insist on bringing Kings Park into the new name, which will be Mr Price Kings Park.

“We want to give something back to Sharks fans and pay tribute to the history of rugby in this province,” said Mr Price chairman Alastair

McArthur. “While we understand that there is a commercial reality to professional rugby, we also feel that history should not be ignored. It is sad when it is, and all too often we see stadiums completely losing their historical name. We would never have considered ‘Mr Price Stadium’.

The sponsorship deal is for 2011 only but there will then be a new, all-embracing contract running from 2012.

“Our title sponsorship finishes at the end of this year, so we will dovetail the two sponsorships going forward next year,” McArthur said.

Team captain John Smit best summed up the sentiment and emotion around the name when he said: “It means a lot to me personally to have the famous name restored. I started here as a 19-year-old in 1997 and the Stadium was called Kings Park. And now I will finish here at Kings Park (Smit is planning to retire from rugby at the end of this year’s World Cup,” the Springbok captain said. “This change means a lot to me. I have had to bite my tongue for a number of years when ‘Kings Park’ came naturally to my tongue but now I can finish up as a player calling it by a name I got to know and love as a boy.”

Sharks CEO Brian van Zyl said: “We are grateful to Mr Price for incorporating the historical name Kings Park and also for coming to our assistance in filling a financial gap now that Absa is no longer with us.”

by Mike Greenaway www.iol.co.za