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Ellis Park could change again

Cape Town - Ellis Park is back as the stadium name of the Golden Lions' home ground, but that may again change in the near future.

The union's president Kevin de Klerk on Tuesday confirmed that stadium sponsors, Coca-Cola, had opted not to renew their five-year, R12m-a-year deal which ended in December last year.

So for the time being, the stadium will be called Ellis Park, after it was known as Coca-Cola Park since 2008.

However, according to the Beeld website, the union union has already moved to obtain new sponsors to take over the naming rights of the stadium.

De Klerk admitted that they're busy with the process of obtaining a new sponsor, with an announcement expected to be made in the near future - which could again see the removal of the Ellis Park name.

The Lions won't feature in this year's Super Rugby competition after being replaced by the Port Elizabeth-based Southern Kings. They will instead play in their own organised "Lions Challenge" series against various teams from all over the world.

Lions' fixture list for 2013 (which includes Lions Challenge matches and excludes Currie Cup games):


19 January: Lions v Russia - Ellis Park, Johannesburg
23 January: Lions v Cheetahs - Ellis Park
2 February: Lions v Bulls - Orlando Stadium, Soweto
9 February: Lions v Kings - Ellis Park
23 February: Namibia v Lions - Windhoek
16 March: Lions v Mont de Marsan - Ellis Park
13 April: US Invitational v Lions - Ervine, California
20 April: US Invitational v Lions - Vancouver, Canada
27 April: Chicago Lions v Lions - Chicago
11 May: Lions v Agen - Ellis Park
1 June: Lions v Samoa - Ellis Park
8 June: Lions v French Barbarians - Ellis Park
15 June: Lions v Stormers - Ellis Park
21 June: Lions v Sharks - Ellis Park
12 July: Lions v Montpellier - Ellis Park
20 July: Lions v Grenoble - Ellis Park
27 July: Super Rugy promotion/relegation first leg -  TBA
3 August: Super Rugby promotion/relegation - Ellis Park

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