IPSWICH Town's links with Suffolk brewer Greene King are set to be renewed with a major new sponsorship deal.The South Stand is to be renamed the Greene King Stand once it is finally completed and the sponsorship deal is tied up.

IPSWICH Town's links with Suffolk brewer Greene King are set to be renewed with a major new sponsorship deal.

The South Stand is to be renamed the Greene King Stand once it is finally completed and the sponsorship deal is tied up.

The Bury St Edmunds brewery was the club's main sponsor for six years from 1995 until the end of last season when it was outbid by power company TXU.

But at that time the football club said it hoped that its relationship with Greene King would continue in some form.

At the same time officials said they hoped to find a sponsor for the South Stand in the same way as Britannia sponsor the main west stand at the club.

Now club officials have confirmed that they are in negotiations with Greene King about the sponsorship deal – although it might not be sealed until the autumn.

"We are talking to Greene King about maintaining our relationship with them, it is something we both want to do," said Ipswich Town spokeswoman Alesha Gooderham.

"The sponsorship of the South Stand is something we are talking to them about, but the signing of the deal is not imminent," she added.

The club feels a debt of gratitude to Greene King because it stepped in as main sponsor in the wake of relegation from the Premiership with a record low number of points.

Frances Brace from Greene King confirmed that negotiations with the club were well advanced.

"We were very keen to maintain our relationship with the club. It worked very well for both of us, and we got a great deal of support from fans.

"We received a lot of messages of support from people when the main sponsorship came to an end – and we really appreciated that," she said.

There was disappointment among many fans at the change in main sponsor – but in the multi-million pound atmosphere of the modern-day Premiership, the club could not ignore the money being offered by TXU.

The exact sum of the sponsorship deal is not known – but it is likely to be measured in hundreds of thousands of pounds rather than millions.

The new three-year sponsorship deal with TXU could be worth as much as £7 million if the club is successful. Greene King had been prepared to bid up to £2.5 million for the same period of sponsorship.

N The new Legends bar in the South Stand will not be open for tonight's match against Derby, the football club confirmed today.

The bar and the restaurant are not finished in time for the start of the new season – which has caused irritation among club officials.

The Evening Star understands that the main contractors building the stand, Jackson's, have been let down by suppliers.

"It is frustrating because everyone has known what the deadline is and yet this has still happened," said a club official.