Business case
Our client had acquired the naming rights for the stadium of a major European football club, which was to be renovated. Our client terminated the agreement, citing allegedly material changes in the stadium’s design. The resulting removal of funding allegedly caused the renovations to be delayed, which led the club to seek damages of over €100m in an ICC arbitration seated in Paris.
The claimant’s expert had based its damages assessment on ever-developing design specifications. Generally speaking, changing the design while construction is underway (as would be the case in the ‘but for’ scenario) often leads to significant cost overruns and additional funding requirements. The value of naming rights depends on a multitude of factors, including the stadium itself, the club, the specific package of rights included in the deal, and its timing and duration.
Accuracy authored three expert reports and provided expert testimony during the hearings.
Our role was twofold: (i) to respond to the assessment of damages prepared by the claimant’s expert and (ii) to assess the impact of the design changes on the value of the naming rights. The claim was ultimately dismissed.