By Sonya Dowsett
MADRID, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Madrid underground station Solwill lose the 'Vodafone' tag which appears on signs at the metrostop and maps of the network when a sponsorship deal with thetelecoms company ends in May, a spokeswoman for Madrid regionalgovernment said on Friday.
The 2013 branding of the metro station at Madrid's mostemblematic square had sparked protests from companies to socialactivists. The deal is worth around 1 million euros ($1.1million) per year and the funds are ploughed back into the metroservice, the spokeswoman said.
"It won't be necessary to have these kind of sponsorshipdeals if we are able to achieve savings from improvedefficiencies," the head of transport for the Madrid government,Pedro Rollan, said earlier this week.
Sol is the symbolic centre of Spain from which the numberingof the country's road system is measured. It is an importantgathering place for Spaniards who come in their thousands tocelebrate New Year's Eve under its famous clock tower.
Tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators filled thesquare at the height of the country's economic crisis in 2011.
Vodafone confirmed the contract, which puts theBritish company's logo and name on signage throughout thestation, would end on May 31 and said it was analysing thesituation without adding more detail.
Corporate sponsorship deals are a controversial way for citycouncils to generate funds to maintain and repair everythingfrom underground stations to famous landmarks.
London Underground sold the naming rights to a metro stationfor the first time ever last year in a deal with Nestle, when itrenamed Canada Water station after mineral water brand BuxtonWater for 24 hours on the day of the London Marathon.
Unions criticised the move.
Rome has allowed discrete sponsorship from luxury groupsTod's and LVMH-owned Fendi to pay for the restoration of ancientlandmarks such as the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain.
($1 = 0.9002 euros) (Reporting by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Mark Potter)