Liverpool Sponsor Carlsberg Eyes New Stadium Naming Rights
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Carlsberg's 18-Year Sponsorship Of
Liverpool Longest Running In EPL |
Denmark-based brewer Carlsberg, the jersey sponsor for EPL club Liverpool, is "ready to discuss the idea of a naming rights deal" for the team's planned stadium "as part of a renewed deal with the club," according to Ian Herbert of the London INDEPENDENT. Carlsberg, whose 18-year sponsorship of Liverpool is the longest running in the EPL, suggested that the stadium entitlement -- which would "vastly increase" its current US$10.6M annual sponsorship -- "will be on the table when discussions begin in earnest at the end of the season," when the brewer's current partnership with Liverpool is set to expire. Carlsberg's interest is seen as an indication that its "widely known dismay at the in-fighting between club owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett has receded." Herbert notes naming rights represent a way for Hicks and Gillett "to extract serious money from the club," while "growing what, by current standards, is a modest deal with Carlsberg." Arsenal's current stadium naming-rights deal with Emirates is valued at US$151.7M. Herbert notes it will be up to Hicks and Gillett, "already undertaking a global review of assets in an attempt to raise finances, to decide whether the additional revenue naming rights would bring is worth the anticipated opposition from some fans" (London INDEPENDENT, 5/15).
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