snubbedm 750000 - Bright Media Pakistan - Latest News, Entertainment & Lifestyle

Roger Federer has won 20 Grand Slam titles and is without doubt Switzerland’s most famous sporting icon. Roger Federer indoor The tennis legend, 36, added to his majors tally last month when winning the Australian Open. There are calls in Basel for the sports star to have a street named after him, as well as the St. Jakobshalle - a multi-use arena that stages the ATP 500 event the Swiss Indoors. Federer is a regular at the venue and in 2011 there were plans to name the St. Jakobshalle after him. But reports in Switzerland claim those plans have been scrapped. The reason for this is money. The Basel authorities are worried the St. Jakobshalle is not breaking even. And therefore a sponsor is being sought, with the hope of generating £750,000 a year to the hall. The government supposedly want to cash in with a sponsorship deal like the one football side St Gallen have, where their Kybun Park ground was renamed the AFG ARENA in a big-money partnership. Federer has regularly professed his love for his home town and has won the Swiss Indoors title eight times. The veteran was recognised by the University of Basel back in November, with the institution handing him an honorary doctorate. As for the street name, that idea has also been shelved. Federer’s tennis rival Rafael Nadal has a street named after him in Valladolid.