BLACKBURN Rovers’ prospective new owner has confirmed that historic Ewood Park could be renamed to raise funds.

In an exclusive interview with the Lancashire Telegraph, Venky’s chairperson Anuradha Desai revealed that the Indian poultry giants are investigating a number of marketing plans to maximise potential revenue streams.

She confirmed that one of the options to capitalising on the Rovers brand would be allowing sponsorship of the club’s stadium that has stood in the town since 1890.

However, no decisions have been made by Venky’s at this time and Mrs Desai stressed that, once the takeover is complete, they will ‘continue the traditions of the club’.

The prospect of renaming Ewood Park has never been discounted by the current Rovers hierarchy, with chairman John Williams admitting more than five years ago that it was never a closed book so long as they took a careful approach to any proposal.

"We will do the best by the fans and also by the club and it is very important to continue the traditions of the club,” said Mrs Desai, who confirmed that the purchase of Rovers would be done on an equity basis, dismissing claims that the acquistion will be funded by a bank.

“We are going to be good responsible owners and we want to make the club stronger.

“There are a lot of marketing plans but nothing is certain yet.

"One of the things we are considering is sponsorship of Ewood Park but no decision has been made.”

If it happened, Rovers would not be the first club in England’s top four divisions to see their permanent stadium change name, with East Lancashire neighbours Accrington Stanley and Bradford City among those making the move in previous years.

Renaming Ewood Park would, though, become an emotive subject for the club’s supporters and, during a chairman’s question and answer interview in June 2005, Williams said the club would entertain the idea but with a degree of caution.

Back then, when asked if he would contemplate renaming the ground, Williams said: “Yes, we would but in that event we would have to be extremely careful and balance the need for funds with the rich history and heritage we've got and obviously want to keep.”

Club legend Bryan Douglas admits that he would be ‘very disappointed’ if Ewood Park was sponsored, insisting the ground name is recognised by football fans throughout the world.

However, the legendary winger accepts that, to compete against the Premier League’s big-hitters, Rovers must look at ways of attracting fresh investment.

“Rovers have been at Ewood Park for over 100 years,” said Douglas.

“The name Ewood Park is not just recognisable in England, but throughout Europe and the world.

“I would be very disappointed if we lost that name. It would be very difficult for die-hard supporters, like me, to accept.

“But people can be fickle. If we start climbing up the league and become a winning team, then some supporters won’t be too concerned about what the stadium is called.”

Douglas added: “The owners will do what they can to generate money and they are experienced businesspeople. If they believe renaming the stadium will bring in vast amounts of money, then it’s a big consideration for them.

“But one thing I’d say is if it does generate millions of pounds, it’s important that it is given to the manager to invest in the squad rather than people who have got nothing to do with the club.”