Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Football grounds are more than sports venues for English football fans; they spend excessive amounts of money to go to many games per season and plenty of money when they are at the games. Given that a team's home ground can massively contribute to a team's identity - fans can be angry when the names are changed from meaningful monikers to sponsorship deal titles.
Grounds in the top-flight of English football are split regarding their stadium names. Three-quarters have original or heritage names: Liverpool has Anfield, Manchester United is at Old Trafford, and even Nottingham Forest plays at the City Ground. There have been countless times when upper management has considered allowing a big company to step in and pay lots of money for naming rights.
When Arsenal changed grounds from the iconic Highbury to the Emirates Stadium, the big move was supposed to facilitate trophies and silverware. However, the club could sustain its status, but it wasn't nearly as successful as it was on the old ground.
Of course, sponsorship naming deals don't guarantee success, but they can help. Take the case of Brighton and Bournemouth, two smaller clubs on the south coast - who had cash injections with American Express and Vitality taking the naming rights of their grounds, respectively. Were these clubs able to maintain Premier League status due to the money from these deals? It certainly didn't hold them back. Without these deals, it's hard to see how the Seagulls could have Kaoru Mitoma in their books or how Bournemouth would have been able to attract Evanilson from FC Porto.
(We could mention Manchester City and the Etihad, but they've got so much money from all sources that it's not like it's the only revenue stream for them).
Fans can despise a deal like this. Newcastle United fans were furious when the then-owner, Mike Ashley, announced in 2011 that St James' Park was renamed the Sports Direct Arena. However, this only lasted a year, as the name was reverted.
As a football team, the money is in the Premier League. That's where the world's sporting gaze is. If a team is not in the top flight, then you don't exist in the broader spectrum of financial football. The income streams are much less exuberant, with TV deals being pennies compared to the Premier League broadcast monies.
Hence, the clubs turn to selling their naming rights for additional funds. It's a lot more common down the English football league. Over half of the 24 teams in League 2 for the 2024-25 season have stadium names that have been sold to companies. Some of which are more digestible than others. The Poundland Bescot Stadium for Walsall is a curious sponsorship - as the incredibly affordable retail shop might not be everyone's first choice for stadium naming rights. However, the University of Bradford Stadium for Bradford City is quite a novel arrangement, as it tries to promote higher education.
Clubs that have stayed in the same stadium would prefer the club's organic identity. Iconic grounds like Deepdale, Carrow Road, and Rodney Parade offer much more than a passing sponsor. Leeds United supporters are incredibly concerned about Red Bull's involvement at their club, given how they have renamed grounds and even replaced club names to fit their branding. It would be hard to see Elland Road becoming Red Bull Arena Yorkshire without a fight.
Gambling on football continues to be a massive pastime. After all, there are betting kiosks on most grounds. However, only one team has allowed a betting company to rename its ground: Stoke City. It had been called the Britannia from 1997 to 2016 but has since been known as the bet365 Stadium.
Do the Stoke fans care? Well, it certainly didn't cause a fuss as the Newcastle renaming project went - but what might help is that Bet365, as a company, lead many of their operations out of Stoke and offers a lot of employment in the area, meaning they have some community cohesion. On the other hand lesser known websites like offshore sportsbooks where there's no connection and limited brand recognition could lead to resentment if years of history is going to be eliminated.
Could more gambling companies be on their way to stadium names? Well, it is becoming harder and harder for these brands to appear in the Premier League. That's because no team will be allowed to have a gambling sponsor on the front of their shirt from the 2026/27 season. This ban could lead brands to try to finance stadium naming deals but could prompt yet another ban on this type of sponsorship.
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