Atlético’s Wanda Metropolitano to be renamed “Civitas Metropolitano”

Badajoz-based real estate development group Civitas Pacensis is set to replace the Wanda Group and become Atlético Madrid’s new stadium sponsor from this coming season.

The Más Atlético website had the information first on Saturday night, revealing Atlético will bring in a little more than the €10 million a year it received over the course of the recently-expired agreement with the Wanda conglomerate.

The Metropolitano will be renamed Estadio Civitas Metropolitano if the five-year deal goes ahead as reported, and both sides hope the agreement can be announced sometime this month — the new stadium name was reportedly registered on Friday.

Marca’s Pablo Egea corroborated this information later in the evening, claiming Civitas is well-placed to strike a deal with Atlético and cautioning that nothing has been finalized yet.

The reported Civitas agreement comes as a surprise after Atleti had opened negotiations with a number of potential sponsors — including German asset management giant Allianz, a name that already adorns the home stadia of Juventus and Bayern Munich. Civitas is not a big, well-known or recognized firm, though it has other sporting sponsorships like Club Baloncesto Badajoz and Civitas Santa Teresa Femenino in Liga Iberdrola — the top flight of women’s football in Spain.

Coincidentally or not, Civitas — which has several Madrileño investors on its board and an office in Madrid — is also expected to play a substantial role in developing Atlético’s expensive new “sports city” in the coming years. The proposed complex will eventually replace the club’s current Majadahonda facilities.