Bosses at the NEC Group say they are still in the hunt for a new naming rights partner for the Barclaycard Arena.

It was announced earlier this week that the name of the city centre canalside venue would change in September once the current sponsorship deal with Barclaycard ended.

But rather than revert back to its original moniker of the National Indoor Arena (NIA), the live entertainment venue will now be known as Arena Birmingham.

Despite announcing in May last year that Barclaycard was calling time on its naming rights deal, the NEC Group, which owns the arena, has so far failed to secure a new sponsorship partner however it is not giving up.

Phil Mead, managing director for the NEC Group Arenas, said: "We are out in the market for a naming rights partner that befits the venue and, given the scale and complexity of these types of sponsorship agreements, it can take time.

"In the interim, we're using a brand that reflects the venue's fantastic location in the heart of Birmingham city centre."

Barclaycard Arena will change its name next month
Barclaycard Arena will change its name next month

Last year, Barclaycard said it had decided to move away from long-term naming rights for the arena less than three years after it launched to great fanfare with a Michael Bublé concert in December 2014.

The commercial deal actually started in 2012 but the venue did not change its name officially until a £26 million revamp had completed in 2014.

London-based agency The Sports Consultancy was also brought in last year to secure naming agreements for the ICC in Birmingham and the NEC in Solihull but no announcements have been made yet on these deals either.

These two venues, along with the Genting Arena in Solihull, are also owned by the NEC Group.

The naming deal with Barclaycard was a first for the NIA while both the ICC and NEC have also never had sponsorships partners before.