Newcastle United are open to Saudi Arabian sponsors taking on the naming rights of St James' Park in a bid to accelerate the club's desire for European football in the coming years. The move would undoubtedly split opinion on Tyneside but would also offer the Magpies a lucrative way of securing significant additional income as they bid to expand the city centre stadium.
Mike Ashley famously renamed St James' Park back in 2011, prompting a sour reaction from the fanbase after the 'Sports Direct Arena' was unveiled. Back then, Newcastle bosses insisted it was a temporary measure to "showcase the sponsorship opportunity to interested parties".
The move was roundly condemned by Newcastle supporters due to Ashley's connection to the high street store, his previous lack of investment in the club and failure to consult fans before making the decision. This time around it will be a different proposition, with Newcastle's new CEO Darren Eales this week confirming nothing would be pushed through without fan consultation beforehand.
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"There has to be a trade-off. If we want to be creating that atmosphere, there may be some opportunities where we talk to the supporters and say, ‘Look, we want to do this – are you guys okay with it because it’s going to help us bring in extra revenue?’" Eales told local media this week.
"We need to compete, but that doesn’t mean we have to double the season-ticket prices or price people out of the ground. "We need dialogue and collaboration, but I hope the supporters know there is a genuine understanding throughout the ownership group of what makes Newcastle special, and that’s the supporters, the atmosphere and that engagement with the club."
So, why are Newcastle contemplating selling the naming rights to such a historic and much-loved venue in the heart of the city? Well in short, these deals can be very lucrative for football clubs - for very little in return.
Newcastle are yet to reap the financial rewards of significant commercial investment in the first 12 months of the takeover, with FUN88 still sponsoring shirts and Saudi-based company Noon becoming the club's official sleeve partner. Without lucrative outside interest in the future, the north east outfit can think again when it comes to matching the likes of Manchester City with their lavish spending in the transfer market and other areas of the football club.
City were one of the first Premier League sides to take advantage of the naming rights cash injection and are now understood to receive in excess of £67.5m-per-year from United Arab Emirates airline Etihad Airways for their sponsorship of the club. Commercial revenue jumped from £48.5m to £97.m in the club's 2011/2012 accounts in the aftermath of the deal being struck.
Emirates Airlines signed its first sponsorship agreement with Arsenal back in 2004, ensuring naming rights to the north London stadium until 2021. In 2018, the Gunners landed a five-year extension to their deal, said to be worth a whopping £200m.
Neighbours Tottenham have had the opportunity to get in on the action after opening their new state of the art venue back in 2019. Spurs chief Daniel Levy has previously played down talk of a stadium name change but companies such as Nike, Google, Apple and Amazon have all been rumoured to have expressed an interest in the rights to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"We are only going to do a naming rights deal if we get the right brand, in the right sector, on the right money," the Spurs chief said three years ago. "If we can’t meet those three criteria, we won’t do it. At the moment, we haven’t found a company that meets all three criteria. We are not really close to anything on that at the moment."
A report from global advisory firm, Duff & Phelps, back in 2019 claimed the value of the naming rights market in the Premier League had risen by 80 per cent in just five years – from £74.6m in 2013 to £135.6m in 2017. The same report claimed Spurs would miss out on around £15.5m per year by not selling their naming rights.
However, it isn't just clubs in the Premier League top six who have cashed in. Bournemouth saw their venue change to the Vitality Stadium, Brighton with the Amex Stadium and Leicester at the King Power Stadium.
Barcelona made international headlines by selling the rights to the famous Nou Camp stadium earlier this year, striking a 12-year deal with music giant Spotify in a bid to solve their financial crisis. The deal will see the La Liga outfit rake in €5m (£4.3m) to be paid in each of the first four years and then €20m (£17.3m) in each of the next eight years, once redevelopment work on the venue has been completed.
While selling the naming rights isn't essential for Newcastle, it would provide a huge cash injection to help Eddie Howe's side compete financially with top flight giants. Saudi-based companies such as Aramco or LIV Golf have been mooted as potential sponsors in recent months.
The ownership have plans to expand St James' Park in the coming years but have ruled out building a new stadium to cope with growing demand for tickets. While the decision to rename the much-loved St James' Park may irk sections of the fanbase, the benefits it will offer the club financially may make it an attractive or worthwhile proposition for some supporters.
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