Microsoft to Sponsor Wembley Stadium

The world famous Wembley Stadium in London will soon have a new sponsor: Microsoft. The Redmond company announced Thursday that it had reached a deal with Wembley's owners worth $8.8 million, according to media reports.

The stadium is scheduled to reopen in mid-2006 after a five-year project to demolish and rebuild a new state-of-the-art venue in its place. Microsoft will receive premiere placement of its logo at the entrance, as well as on 100 advertising plaques around the stadium.

Microsoft also gets a mid-field skybox and exclusive use of the stadium for a day each year through 2010 as a "founding partner."

"We believe that by working with the new Wembley Stadium we can help to improve people's experience of live entertainment, be that sport, music or other events, through the application of technology," Nick Barley, marketing officer at Microsoft UK, said in a statement.

The company will be responsible with outfitting the stadium with Microsoft technology to enhance the experience for fans and ease day-to-day operations. The deal could make Wembley Stadium one of the most high-tech venues in the world.

The revamped stadium is expected to see over two million visitors yearly, and create 5,000 jobs when it opens.

"The union of Microsoft and the new state-of the art Wembley Stadium is fantastic news and will help resurrect the Stadium as the world's leading sports and entertainment venue," Chief Executive of Wembley Stadium Michael Cunnah said.