China's National Stadium will rent out its VIP suites in a latest attempt to boost the revenue of the iconic landmark.

The venue, better known as the Bird's Nest, is offering to lease the naming rights of 84 executive boxes from two to 20 years. The rooms are all on the fourth tier and offer good views of the playing area below.

Yang Cheng, vice-president of the stadium, said renters will be allowed to use and even redesign the suites. "(They can) decorate the room with their own logos, images and colors, but the function cannot be changed," he said.

Bidding will only be open to enterprises, not individuals, and the stadium is now proactively contacting potential partners, with multinational and State-owned firms already expressing an interest, he told METRO.

Staff were reluctant to reveal how much money the stadium is expected to make from the project on Tuesday.

VIP boxes up for grabs include en suite Gold Crown rooms on the east side and Silver Crown rooms to the northeast. Besides using the rooms, renters will also enjoy extra services and discounted tickets.

The stadium is diversifying to increase its revenue.Last June, it made nine rooms available for hire and designed a VIP sightseeing route to attract more visitors. Apart from sporting events, it has also hosted concerts, festivals, press conferences, exhibitions and forums.

With visitors paying 50 yuan to get in, tourism is the biggest source of income for the iconic stadium, which was the centerpiece of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. However, annual operating costs are 150 million yuan, including 60 million yuan for maintenance.

Writing in the press, Lin Xianpeng, professor at Beijing Sport University's school of management, said performances and tourism cannot sustain the stadium, while selling the naming rights of sporting venues is common practice worldwide.

Roughly 70 percent of stadiums in developed countries have sold their naming rights, he said, including Sydney's Olympic Park, which was renamed the Telstra Stadium, and the NBA Rockets' home venue, which signed a $300-million, 30-year deal with Toyota.