Carlsberg Talks Tough On Liverpool's Ownership, Stadium Deal

Carlsberg Blasts Liverpool Over Delay In New Stadium Construction, Ownership Issues

Carlsberg, English Premier League club Liverpool's biggest sponsor, has criticized the club's co-Owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, “for delays in building their new stadium and said it is an open secret the club is still up for sale,” according to Tim Rich of the Manchester GUARDIAN. Carlsberg Int'l Marketing Dir Keld Strudahl said, "While we have a good relationship with Tom Hicks, we are naturally unhappy that the planned new stadium has been postponed. That cannot be good for Liverpool as a long-term business." Work on a new stadium at Stanley Park, which began in June, has been put on hold because of the increasing finance costs. Calling the sale of the team a "badly kept secret,” Strudahl discussed speculation that Dubai Int'l Capital (DIC) is interested in a takeover. Strudahl: “We want the owners to say whether they intend to keep the club. … If DIC become the new owners, I cannot foresee any problems working with them. We had a good dialogue with them before Hicks and ­Gillett. As the main sponsor, we saw their business plan and it looked good.” Carlsberg's shirt sponsorship deal with Liverpool, worth US$10.6M a season, expires in 2010 (Manchester GUARDIAN, 12/24).