St James' Park has been the home of Newcastle United since 1892. Not even the Nou Camp, the Santiago Bernabeu, the San Siro or Old Trafford have such a long history.
You can see why potentially changing the name of this historic arena, the cathedral on the hill, is a decision the hierarchy will not take lightly and supporters will be consulted if the club ever decide to do so. Lessons have clearly been learned after former owner Mike Ashley christened St James' the Sports Direct Arena without so much as a second thought in 2011.
There was no tangible commercial benefit to that ill-fated arrangement for Newcastle, who already had Ashley's sports retailer's logos plastered all over the stadium, but any subsequent naming rights deal will boost revenues and help the Magpies comply with Financial Fair Play. Perhaps it is not a surprise, then, that CEO Darren Eales has already admitted that 'we are going to look at every opportunity', whether it is a full-on rebrand or an association partner that retains the St James' name with a sponsor on either side.
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Supporters will always refer to the stadium as St James' Park, regardless, but the fanbase are understandably split on the prospect of a naming rights deal. In the Chronicle's recent fan survey, after all, which polled close to 3,000 fans, more than half (51%) of those who took part believed it was the right thing to do, but 37% were against it and 12% were unsure.
You suspect those numbers will change when further detail potentially emerges down the line. Thomas Concannon recognises that 'something at some point is going to have to give if we want to see that success continue on the pitch', but the Newcastle United Supporters' Trust board member wants to see 'proper fan consultation' around it.
"St James' Park is not a new stadium," he told ChronicleLive. "We've seen new stadiums completely go down a new branded route and that tends to be a little bit more acceptable, but this is St James' Park.
"It's always been our home and it certainly is a sensitive issue so you want to make sure that if anyone was to take on the name, it's viable and we really see the effects on the pitch because that's what we really care about. As well, because it's of such importance to the supporters - this is just my personal opinion - I would like to see something given back to the supporters if the stadium was renamed like it being reflected in ticket prices, for example."
Concannon's comments will certainly be noted just days after supporter groups met Eales and chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone at St James' Park. The meeting took place after Newcastle and fellow top-flight clubs unanimously approved the introduction of the Premier League fan engagement standard last week. This will not only lead to a fan advisory board being set up; Premier League clubs will also publish a fan engagement plan in January, 2023 and at the start of each season in the years to come.
This plan will set out the club's proposed action and activities for the rest of the campaign, including a list of all heritage assets that it 'regards in scope for fan consultation'. This is the category where St James' naming rights could fall under moving forward.
Clearly, whatever the format, fan consultation is going to be important, whether it is regular forums or surveying season ticket holders, and Eales has already stated if 'we want to do anything with the stadium, we’ll talk to the supporters'. Eales vowed 'we are not going to do something that doesn't make good business sense because it upsets 99% of our supporters' as Ashley did in 2011 much to Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah's horror.
"When Ashley announced he was going to rename St James' Park the Sports Direct Arena, I was horrified," the MP told ChronicleLive. "It was done without discussion or consultation and seemed deliberately designed to annoy the fans.
"Mr Eales is calling for a grown-up conversation and, whilst I am still concerned, I also acknowledge the difference in style and substance. As long as the fans have a strong voice in that conversation then they can help determine the best interests of the club."
These talks will go a long way to deciding whether Newcastle join Man City, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal et al in having a stadium partner. Another club to have such an arrangement is Real Sociedad, whose Anoeta Stadium was renamed the Reale Arena as part of a six-year deal with the Spanish-based insurance provider when the facility was redeveloped in 2019.
There was not necessarily a huge list of brands interested in such a partnership at the time but, according to Begona Larzabal, the club's director of commercial and marketing, long-time sponsor Reale 'believed in the project'. Reale's backing has been rewarded in a way - Sociedad went on to win the Copa del Rey in 2021, which was the club's first trophy in 35 years - and the company have benefited from their name being seen by a global audience when La Real play in Europe.
When it comes to the success of the partnership, Larzabal felt even the similarity of Reale's name made it 'better to accept for the fans' as well as the company being a 'good partner'
"We were sure of the decision as there are not a lot of naming rights in Spain, we thought that was prestigious to sell them," she told ChronicleLive. "There were, of course, some people complaining but not too much.
"As I said, in Spain, it is not easy to find a naming [rights deal] so it was important and good for the club. Long-term partnerships are important. We think it is a good thing even when it takes a long time for people to get used to the new name. Of course, it depends on the old name of the stadium, the meaning for the fans of that name and the brands chosen."
As Larzabal rightly pointed out, like in the Premier League, stadium partners are not as common in La Liga as they are in, say, the Bundesliga, where nearly all top-flight teams have a rebranded stadium name. One such example is Werder Bremen's Weserstadion.
Unlike many stadiums with naming rights deals, this is not a new arena and the venue was originally built in 1947. Like Sociedad, with Reale, Werder had an existing partner in Wohninvest, who were prepared to sponsor the stadium. Christian Rauhut, the club's sales director, revealed that such a partnership has been 'essential for survival' for the stadium's 'operating company in particular' - even if it has not gone down well with everyone.
"From the outset, resistance to the sale of the naming rights was to be expected," he told ChronicleLive. "This was one of the reasons for the solution of the joint 'double name': Wohninvest Weserstadion.
"The great majority of fans welcome this approach but other groups of fans repeatedly signal their opposition, which also applies to other commercial activities of the club in general."
If these sorts of arrangements are becoming more common in Germany, well, they really are widespread in the U.S. In fact, Brook Bingham, the vice-president of corporate partnerships at Real Salt Lake, told ChronicleLive that, remarkably, 'if you don't have a naming rights partner here in Major League Soccer, it's almost frowned upon.'
Eales will know that better than most from his time at Atlanta United, where he was president, and the Five Stripes play at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That is one of a number of lucrative naming rights deals in the U.S.
Another is Minnesota United's partnership with Allianz. Teaming up with Allianz has even opened doors for the MLS side with Bayern Munich and Juventus, whose stadiums are also named after the international financial services provider, when it comes to partnering together and sharing best practice.
Allianz, for their part, felt the deal was an opportunity to showcase that they were a major employer in Minnesota, where the company's North American corporate campus is located. That connection is important to Bryant Pfeiffer, who is the chief revenue officer at the club, and serves as an example of the sort of partner Newcastle should look for.
"You want someone who is invested in your community and is authentic to soccer," he told ChronicleLive. "There are lots of examples out there in professional sports where a brand in a different category has come in and offered a lot of money and their business has fallen apart.
"It's embarrassing for the community, it's embarrassing for the club and it doesn't end well. We take a lot of pride as an organisation in being associated with a partner who is so invested in Minnesota, who is so respected internationally."
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