Premiership rugby side Wasps revealed that the club achieved a record turnover of £15.2M ($22M) in the six months to Dec. 31 and extended the stadium naming rights deal with Ricoh in a short-term deal, according to Tim Groves of RUNNING RUGBY. There had been rumors that current main shirt sponsor Land Rover and others "may have been interested in the stadium naming rights" but Wasps CEO David Armstrong has confirmed that it will remain the Ricoh Arena for the foreseeable future, although he "refused to divulge the length of the new agreement." Armstrong: "I can’t reveal more as it’s bound by confidentiality. But it’s a short-term extension, not a long-term extension." The club’s half-year accounts revealed that there is a net debt of £37.3M ($54M) but the operating losses have been reduced to just £200,000 ($290,000). Wasps brought in £5.8M ($8.4M) of the £15.2M turnover with £6.6M ($9.6M) coming from IEC Experience Ltd. and £2.8M ($4M) from Arena Coventry Ltd. The half-year accounts also showed that the average food and beverage spend at Coventry City FC matches was £1.97 ($2.85) per head for the last six months of '15 but at Wasps games it was as high as £5.84 ($8.45) per person (RUNNING RUGBY, 3/17).
