Naming rights is on everyone’s lips in London at the moment.
Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are hunting for huge sponsors for their new stadiums and the latest club to join the bandwagon are Chelsea. The Blues have obtained planning permission not long ago for their new ground at Stamford Bridge, making it a three-way battle to get the naming rights.
Spurs are not slowing down their new home development which would see them complete the building work two years ahead of the Blues. No doubt, their chairman Daniel Levy is making positive waves among the home supporters by shackling key players with contract extensions. Next in his checklist is seeking a long-term mammoth deal with an eye to surpass Arsenal’s £150 million Emirates Stadium contract in 2012 which includes a shirt sponsorship.
According to the Daily Mail, The big boss craves a 20-year agreement with a value of £20 million annually since it’s no easy feat to rename a UK stadium for the second time. Moreover, there are rumours popping up that a number of Chinese investments are on cards.
There is no getting away from the fact that snapping naming rights is pretty complicated. Indian technology company Mahindra Group was in the box seat for West Ham’s London stadium rights but talks buckled off as they failed to agree on a £4.5 million-a-year asking price. Apart from money monopoly, the hooligan trouble that occurred in the earlier games stemmed the tide.
The Hammers are gradually crawling up the league table after a poor start to the season but external dilemmas are continually darting in. If losing a potential investor seems to be a blow, their star player Dimitri Payet has been creating quite a ruckus by claiming that he won’t be playing for the London club anymore. His former side Marseille and Liverpool are reportedly tracking his availability.
While Spurs and West Ham are all out finding for naming backers, Chelsea are concentrating on building contractors. Their building progress is privately financed by their owner Roman Abramovich so far.
Nabbing a proper sponsor for the stadium is crucial for any club out there as it provides the much-needed financial clout to take the club one step further. Over the years, both sponsorship fees and shirt sales have assisted clubs hierarchy in recycling them into marquee signings.
Speaking of signings, the Lilywhites are pretty quiet in the winter window as they have a squad that is capable of fighting for the league trophy and other competitions.
