An imaginary stadium's modelled and rendered.
A bitter row has broken out between a local brewery and a Football League club after an agreement to supply alcohol was ended.
Bosses at Maxim Brewery in Houghton-le-Spring claim Sunderland AFC has “gone back on its word” over a deal at the Stadium of Light.
Mark Anderson, who runs the brewery, believed he had a five-year partnership with the club beginning in 2021.
However, the club said its only “legal agreement” was with the Molson Coors Beverage Company and it had tried unsuccessfully to “reach a positive outcome for all parties”.
Mr Anderson was part of a group which started Maxim after the closure of the original Vaux Brewery in Sunderland in 1999.
It acquired the rights to continue brewing some of its beers, including Samson, and introduced the drink at the stadium as part of a “five-year” deal announced by the club three years ago.
However, the brewery has now been replaced by another firm, based in Monkwearmouth, which acquired the rights to the Vaux name under which it is trading.
Mr Anderson said he was told of the decision via an email from the club which provided no specific reasons other than a “change of direction”.
“They said they were looking to take Samson out,” he told the BBC. “We feel as though we have been dumped.
“It’s very sad, and painful financially. [The decision] doesn’t seem to make financial sense, or sense to the fans.”
