Shahid Khan hopes purchasing Wembley will lead to more NFL games being staged at the venue.GETTY IMAGES
Gambling sponsors "will not be permitted at Wembley Stadium if the venue is sold to a new owner under conditions" imposed by the U.K. government, according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. Premier League side Fulham Owner Shahid Khan made a £600M ($771.5M) offer to the FA to buy the stadium and a decision is expected toward "the end of the year." It emerged that the conditions of a sale "include a future ban on gambling sponsors at the stadium." The FA cut its links with Ladbrokes last year after deciding it was "inappropriate to have a betting partner when all players are banned from betting on football," and the government's conditions on the Wembley sale "will enforce that position for any new owner." Other restrictions include "any new owner having to gain government approval" to sell the stadium. Additionally, the sale conditions would prevent Khan, who also owns the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars, from displaying the American football team's branding inside the stadium "on a permanent basis" (LONDON TIMES, 9/3). In this week's SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, Daniel Kaplan examined Khan's bid for Wembley as well as the delays to Totttenham's new stadium. That article is available here.
