Arsenal FC in search for sponsor of new stadium

Arsenal Football Club is embarking on a search for a naming rights sponsor for its new stadium in Ashburton Grove to help meet building costs of &£400m.

An industry insider says &£60m has been mentioned for a multi-year deal, but he adds that the North London club is more likely to realise about &£30m.

Previous naming rights deals have been for considerably less, but Arsenal will be the highest-profile team to forge such a commercial partnership.

Leicester City signed up crisp maker Walkers to name its stadium in a &£1.5m, ten-year deal, but Arsenal can offer a larger audience and regular European football.

The source says: “Arsenal will no longer have the Highbury brand to protect – Ashburton Grove doesn’t have the same ring. The &£400m bill will need some sponsor revenue.”

Building on the Ashburton Grove site has been halted owing to financial constraints. Commercial director Adrian Ford says the club is confident that work will be given the final green light by September.

Ford adds: “It is early days, but there are plenty of opportunities for what will be a ‘state-of-the-art’ stadium. We will have a look at the US model of close association over a long period.”

Arsenal will enter the market for a stadium sponsor at the same time as Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium (MW last week).