Carlsberg ponders Anfield naming rights deal
Liverpool FCs proposed new stadium could be named Carlsberg Anfield as a naming rights deal could be part of a renewed partnership with the clubs primary sponsor.
Liverpool FC’s proposed new stadium could be named Carlsberg Anfield as a naming rights deal could be part of a renewed partnership with the club’s primary sponsor.
The Danish brewer has been a sponsor of the Merseyside club for 18 years and has indicated that it is open to discussing the stadium-naming possibility when discussions over a new deal begin at the end of the season, according to reports.
Gareth Roberts, UK director of sponsorship at Carlsberg, told The Independent that a naming rights deal would be “part of the discussion” but that there had been no decisions as yet.
Any stadium deal would boost the current £7.5m deal the brewer has with the club, which would be a fillip for the club’s owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who borrowed heavily to buy the club in 2007.
Any improved deal would also be a coup for the club at a when brands are looking closely at the return on investment that sponsorship deals provide as marketing budgets are slashed in the economic downturn.
Other Premier League clubs have extracted similar deals with their primary sponsors in recent years. Arsenal signed a 13-year naming deal with shirt sponsor Emirates believed to be worth about £100m while Bolton Wanderers’ stadium will be continue to called the Reebok Stadium, despite replacing the sporting goods manufacturer as shirt sponsor with betting firm 188bet.
