To Accor Stadium, CommBank Stadium and Allianz Stadium you can now add Carbiz Stadium in Camden.
That’s right, thanks to a sponsorship deal with the accident replacement car business, the main field at the home of Camden Tigers FC will be known as Carbiz Stadium.
The signs, which have already gone up around the ground and on top of the grandstand, were unveiled at a media event yesterday.
Alex Rodov, the director of Carbiz, along with some of his staff from offices in Prestons and Mascot, attended the announcement.
While the entire complex, known as Ron Dine Memorial, will remain unchanged, fans in attendance for Tigers’ big matches, including NPL, will be watching them at Carbiz Stadium.
“A club this size – we have a 12 acre complex here – we maintain every inch of grass here, the council does not set foot in here,’’ says Rod Ciantar, the president of Camden Tigers FC, pictured above (left) with Mr Rodov.
“The main field here at Carbiz Stadium costs us $100,000 a year to maintain.
“So a lot of this stadium naming sponsorship money will go towards maintenance of our complex.’’
Mr Ciantar said he and Mr Rodov run businesses in the same industry and that is where the relationship between Camden Tigers and Carbiz got started.
“Alex came on board as a sponsor last year for our inaugural women’s NPL team,’’ Mr Ciantar said.
“We are in the same business, me in smash repairs and Alex in the accident replacement car business, so we complement each other every day.
“I asked him if he wanted to expand his sponsorship, and he said what about naming rights of the field or a stadium,
“I think it’s a great concept.
“Carbiz still sponsors our girls, you can see the logo on their jerseys, and we have signs around the field.’’
Mr Ciantar runs one of the oldest businesses in Macarthur, Reno Smash Repairs in Hollylea Road, Leumeah, while Mr Rodov founded Carbiz in 2016.
Carbiz is an all-in-one accident management service operating right across Sydney.
“Customers are at the core of everything we do, helping mum and dad when they’ve had an accident,’’ says Mr Rodov.
“So supporting the community, through clubs like this, giving back, is very important to us,’’ he says.
Mr Rodov admits he did not play football himself, but both his sons play in the NPL NSW competition.
But he’s obviously a fan who loves the beautiful game and wants it to do well at all levels.
“We sponsor football teams, including women’s sides, as part of our brand awareness marketing,’’ he says.
“It’s our way of supporting football, which, as the most popular grassroots sport, doesn’t get much government t assistance and funding.’’
The Carbiz Stadium naming sponsorship deal also confirms Camden Tigers FC as one of the smartest sport clubs of in any code in the Macarthur region.
Two years ago they added an Indigenous Football Program (IFP) to their systems, installing [Uncle] Phil Dotti as director.
Mr Dotti, who was at yesterday’s announcement, told the South West Voice in Macarthur that with Indigenous international matches between Australia and New Zealand scheduled later this year at Carbiz Stadium, perhaps the word “International’’ could have also been added in there.