Vodafone Sweden sponsor of health and sports centre in Karlskrona – Vodafone Arena Rosenholm

Vodafone Sweden is delighted to announce that it will be the main sponsor behind a new health and sports centre in Karlskrona: the Vodafone Arena Rosenholm. The company will over a five-year period be investing SEK 10 million towards developing both the arena and promoting the world of sports in Karlskrona.

Vodafone Sweden has concluded an agreement with Karlskrona Municipality to sponsor the new health and sports centre in Karlskrona, which will provide the town with a state-of-the-art sports facility for tennis, handball, badminton, ice hockey, curling, boule, figure-skating, gymnastics and football. Among other sport events the Swedish Championship in figure-skating will be held in the arena this December. The centre will also be hosting a whole new kind of entertainment and cultural happenings in Karlskrona: the knock-out stages of the Eurovision Song Contest, is just one of many upcoming highlights. The Vodafone Arena Rosenholm will be officially opened on 29-30 October 2005. Vodafone Sweden will be investing SEK 10 million over the next five-year period. Five million is earmarked for the arena itself while the remaining five will go towards promoting sports in Karlskrona, aimed at establish sport at top level in the region. “This is fantastic. We have long been on the lookout for ways to help Karlskrona further develop and this agreement fits perfectly. With the new health and sport centre in Karlskrona, not only will our employees and the Karlskrona’s inhabitants have a great opportunity to pursue sports activities, it also forms the springboard for even better recreational and elite sports initiatives in the municipality. We are delighted to be part of this project and are proud that the arena is named Vodafone Arena Rosenholm,” says Grahame Maher, CEO of Vodafone Sweden. “Vodafone's support means a flying start towards our goal of establishing Karlskrona and the Vodafone Arena Rosenholm as a leader within sport and health in the Baltic region within ten years," says Mats Johansson, major of Karlskrona. "The sponsoring of the arena is a continuation of the close cooperation that we have had with Vodafone, which is one of the largest private employers within the municipality." “Sports are synonymous with joie-de-vivre, community, diversity and fighting spirit – values that we at Vodafone Sweden believe are just as important at work. That is why it was a pleasure to be sponsor of a whole sports centre, which offers so many people the chance to enjoy sports activities and forms a perfect meeting place for the people of Karlskrona and in the Baltic region,” says Grahame Maher, CEO of Vodafone Sweden. For more information, please contact: Johan Holmgren, Head of Public Relations, Vodafone Sweden Tel: +46 708 33 14 00, e-mail: johan.holmgren@vodafone.com Michael Fransson, Arena Manager, Vodafone Arena Rosenholm Tel: +46 455 30 30 16, e-mail: michael.fransson@karlskrona.se Ulla Nelson, Chief Information Office, Karlskrona Municipality Tel: +46 455 30 30 13, e-mail: ulla.nelson@karlskrona.se