WHAT'S in a name? Well, actually, heaps of cash if you play your cards right.

That's why if I were sitting in the accounts office at Manchester City Council this morning, I would be picking up the phone to Blues' chief executive Alistair Mackintosh and chairman John Wardle and talking about a title for a Premiership stadium that is a great credit to both parties.

Finding a corporate bigwig to adorn the ground with their brand name could make the Blues and the council millions in extra cash - and that surely wouldn't come amiss on either balance sheet.

City have spent the past couple of weeks strenuously denying rumours that they are about the sell the name of the ground and there is no reason whatsoever to believe otherwise. To do so they would have to negotiate changes to the terms of the 250-year lease they signed with the council after inheriting the stadium following the hugely successful Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002.

That detail, though, surely shouldn't stop both parties at least investigating the possibility of some corporate schmoosing in the pursuit of a deal that will suit everyone.

It is hard to envisage any City fan being up in arms at the thought of their new home receiving a fresh name. Even those Blues who perpetually view life through a half-empty glass must see that it could benefit them and the team by providing a cash injection to a club always seeking ways of producing worthwhile investment.

Supporters have not been in the ground long enough to develop an umbilical cord attachment to the place.

Blasphemy

There are not any of the large doses of sentiment, tradition or history surrounding the stadium as there were at dear old Maine Road - a name that no one would have wanted to disappear for the sake of money.

To have suggested hawking off Maine Road's name would have been close to Blue blasphemy, but not so the current home that seems to me has no identity at all at present.

Some call it `Eastlands', an area that doesn't officially exist on maps, some who like expending their breath call it by its Sunday best name `City of Manchester Stadium', others prefer to shorten that to `COMS' while still more refer to City's stronghold as `Sportcity' in keeping with those nice brown signs that help everyone find their way to the complex.

See what I mean. How unifying it would be to find a once and for all handle to attach to the name.

There simply have to be companies, Blue Chip ones naturally, who would be willing to fork out more than just a few quid to have their name become synonymous with a magnificent state of the art stadium.

Highbury no longer exists but people are already happy to say Emirates Stadium, Bolton jettisoned the burden of Burnden to ply their trade at the Reebok, and even cricket is played at the Fosters Oval.

Further down the footballing ladder, Doncaster occupy the Earth Stadium and Swansea The Liberty. Over the pond in America where the dollar is much mightier than any sentiment over concrete and steel, it is possible to watch NFL at the Heinz or the Fed-Ex Stadium. All the teams concerned have benefited financially from changing the name of the ground.

With a UEFA Cup final in the pipeline and rugby and soccer internationals as well as concerts from world-renowned artists regular features at a packed Eastlands/Coms/Sportcity now would seem the perfect time to standardise the name and make it known throughout the globe.

And if some money can be made then all well and good.

Should City and the council pursue a corporate brand name for their stadium? Have your say.