This computer-generated picture, issued by Manchester United, shows an interior view of the planned … [+]
Some stadium names are iconic.
‘Wembley’ is so closely associated with soccer that kids in England use it to describe one of their playground games, and it’s impossible to hear the word ‘Maracana’ without imagining Brazilian legends like Pele wearing the yellow shirt of Brazil.
‘Old Trafford’ is another of those names. Despite Manchester United struggling on the pitch, it’s still seen as a formidable fortress, even with its leaky roof.
But it’s a name that could become history as the club looks to build a new stadium.
Manchester United’s planned new stadium will cost a fortune, but it will bring in increased matchday and commercial revenue, and part of that could come from a stadium sponsorship deal.
That naming deal could be one of the most lucrative of any soccer stadium in the world.
International valuation analysts Kroll, in their 2024 report, valued Old Trafford’s stadium sponsorship rights at $16.7 million per season. But Kroll’s managing director Mike Weaver says that the new stadium would be worth around double that.
Weaver says the new stadium “would obviously be totally revolutionary” and “it’ll be worth probably more than anywhere other than the Nou Camp.”
Weaver says the size of the sponsorship deal would massively increase because the stadium would be new, so the sponsor wouldn’t be replacing an existing name. He says “the value is about two times for a new stadium than it is an old stadium,” so “it could be worth up to two times what we have in the report right now,” with perhaps a slight discount as it would be on the same site as the current Old Trafford stadium.
The reason for this is that renaming existing stadiums brings such a large fan backlash that “brands would not want to be associated with naming an old stadium at all.” Such fan backlashes have been seen in the Premier League such as when former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley tried to rename St. James’ Park. The way Manchester United’s stadium redevelopment is handled is also a factor, as if local residents are unhappy then this could have a negative impact.
Real Madrid is top of Kroll’s highest estimated stadium naming rights value list at $32.4 million per season. A doubling of Manchester United’s current naming rights value would put it around that level, and more than Barcelona’s naming deal with Spotify for the Camp Nou, which Kroll values at $21.8 million a season.
Manchester United fans will be relieved to hear that performance on the pitch isn’t a huge factor in stadium valuations. Weaver says that despite United’s poor form, the club is still commanding top-end commercial revenues for shirt sponsorships. A recent UEFA report showed that in 2024 Manchester United had the third highest commercial revenues and fifth highest kit and merchandising revenues of any soccer club in the world despite struggling on the pitch.
With stadium names, brands are paying for the eyeballs they get every time the name is written anywhere or any time people visit the stadium, even for concerts or other non-sport reasons. United’s new stadium is designed to be a “destination” and keep people in the area before and after the match, which will also push up sponsorship values as people will be seeing the brand’s name for longer.
Old Trafford was shunned for England’s hosting of the 2028 UEFA European Championship, but the new stadium is likely to host similar major events such as the Champions League final. Weaver says that these mega-events are unlikely to have a huge impact on sponsorship value though as stadium sponsorship deals are long-term deals.
Manchester United is not the only Premier League club whose stadium could get a corporate sponsor as both Everton and Tottenham Hotspur have new stadiums and both are as of yet without a sponsorship deal. Weaver says as Everton’s stadium is on a new site, this is highly valuable and its riverside location means a sponsor’s name on the roof of the stadium would look beautiful in pictures.
For Tottenham Hotspur, Kroll values a potential sponsorship deal on its new stadium at $19.6 million, which is more than the current estimated value for Old Trafford, but Tottenham has been in the market for years and hasn’t yet found a sponsor for its world-class stadium.
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