It’s been a decade since the Putra Indoor Stadium of the Bukit Jalil National Stadium got renamed to Axiata Arena. But it looks like it’s time for another name change, now being known as the Unifi Arena. The exercising of naming rights doesn’t stop there, as the Bukit Jalil National Stadium itself has also gotten a rebrand. Now, it’s called the TM National Stadium instead.
The name changes follow a three-year “strategic partnership” signed between the Malaysia Stadium Corporation (PSM) and TM. In a Statement, PSM says that the strategic partnership “is an important step to ensure both venues remain relevant and comfortable and competitive for hosting world-class sporting and entertainment events”.
For context, back in 2022, then youth and sports minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu said that the national stadium may be rebranded using a strategic partner’s name. This was one way of generating income to meet stadium maintenance expenses.
Tying in to this is the initial renaming of the Putra Indoor Stadium to the Axiata Arena back in 2017. This was a result of another partnership between PSM and Axiata Group. This was instead a 10-year agreement worth RM55 million, the end of which allowed another one to take its place. Hence the new names of Unifi Arena, and the overall TM National Stadium name.
All that being said, the statement does not include the worth of the agreement this time around. That, and that the new names took effect on 6 March, despite the statement being issued today. Also probably worth mentioning is that, since this is a three-year agreement, it’s entirely possible that another name change will happen come 2028.
(Source: PSM / Facebook, Bernama)
