Report: Owners to rename Blackburn stadium

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- Premier League club Blackburn Rovers are set to have their home ground Ewood Park renamed by their new Indian owners, a newspaper report said on Sunday.

Poultry giant Venky's, which sealed a 54-million-pound ($86.07-million) deal on Friday to become the first Indian company to own a Premier League club, would name the ground after itself or another sponsor, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

"We need to improve the brand Blackburn Rovers. The management thus far has done a good job but has not been proactive enough. We are looking to change that," Venky's chairperson Anuradha Desai was quoted as saying.

"Arsenal named their stadium 'The Emirates' after their main sponsors. Our stadium could be called the Venky's Stadium or could adopt the name of another sponsor.

"We are looking to spread the name of Blackburn Rovers wherever we can. India is our major target," she said.

The club, formed in 1875, have played at Ewood Park since 1890. The ground's record attendance of 62,522 was established in March 1929 in an FA Cup quarter-final against local rivals Bolton Wanderers. The current capacity is just over 31,300.

The owners also plan to take the team to India.

"We will take a look at their calendar and when it is convenient for them we will arrange exhibition matches in India," Desai said.

"We are also looking to start workshops where we fly down coaches of the Blackburn Academy and arrange training sessions for kids in India."

She revealed little about the new owners' plans to bolster the team, apart from the fact that they were looking for a forward.

"Money will not be the driving force that pushes this club up the table. We have the resources but are not using them to their potential.

"Now that we have given the club a solid support, you will see the change taking place in a couple of months. Having said that, we are in the market for a striker".