Will Spurs do a naming rights deal with Google?

It is now three and a half years since Tottenham Hotspur moved into their new home, a £1billion state-of-the-art stadium built on top of the old White Hart Lane. Chairman Daniel Levy confirmed back in 2019 that the club would be interested in securing a “naming-rights deal” with the “right brand, on the right money”, but no such agreement has been struck.

The pandemic held things up. There has also been a suggestion that Tottenham wanted to keep the stadium free from a sponsor as it might be more attractive for a potential buyer. A further factor is that Uefa have sponsorship regulations that forbid the stadium being referred to by its sponsor but for certain circumstances. Therefore, for example, Emirates Stadium is known as Arsenal Stadium in Uefa competitions.

The north London club have been looking for a long-term deal worth more than £25 million a year and have spoken to a number of big companies including Uber, FedEx and Amazon during the three years since they moved into their new home.

Reports in more than one media outlet have suggested that Tottenham are in meaningful talks with Google over naming rights for the 62,850-capacity stadium.

Tottenham’s stadium holds obvious appeal. As well as hosting the club’s home matches in the Premier League and Champions League — two of the most-watched football tournaments in the world — the ground also stages regular NFL matches and could yet welcome a permanent franchise in the future. The stadium has also hosted rugby league’s Challenge Cup Final, heavyweight boxing world title fights and several large concerts.

Any deal with Google would be a coup for Tottenham. The club’s average annual turnover is the fifth-best in the Premier League and Spurs already have lucrative long-term arrangements with its main shirt sponsor AIA, kit supplier Nike, plus a sleeve partnership with online car seller Cinch. But striking a naming-rights deal would boost their coffers further when things are going better on the pitch.

Although no agreement with Google is close, it would be an interesting step for the technology company to align themselves with one club as opposed to a league. They have agreements with the NBA and the MLB in the United States although in March they announced a multi-year partnership with McLaren Racing as a new partner of the Formula 1 Team and the MX Extreme E Team for this season.

Another stumbling block has been the club’s financial demands which would make their deal among the biggest in the world. The highest naming rights deal was made by Scotiabank for Toronto’s Maple Leafs and Raptors Arena in 2018, worth Canadian $800 million (about £527 million), or £26 million a year. Social Finance agreed to a 20-year deal worth a total of $400 million (£361 million in total or 18 million a year) to place their name on the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers’ new home in 2019.

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The Political Economy of Football V2

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