Football Stadiums And Naming Rights

Is football the new religion?  Are football stadiums the cathedrals for the new common man? Two questions that people have asked for years.  But what truth is there in an answer of “Yes”?  Based on the explosion of commercialisation of the game I would suggest that some football clubs have a cult-like approach to fan engagement.  Get them in as young as possible, ram our product down their throats as often as we can and then brainwash them to come and spend ridiculous sums of money on things like branded toasters, branded bottles of water and even branded vodka.  There is certainly no end to what a football club will slap an advert on these days for cash.  Apart from renaming the actual club as you can find all through the Austrian Bundelisga (Red Bull Salzburg anyone? or are you simply looking for a Cashpoint in Altach), the biggest billboard a club has to offer is their ground.  Stadium naming rights are big business these days.  In Germany it is the norm to sell the naming rights on a regular basis but elsewhere in Europe where many grounds are not owned by the clubs, but by local authorities it is not common.

The situation in England is confused to say the least. If you look at the twenty biggest stadiums in England, only three are sponsored.  The Emirates, The Ricoh Arena and The Walkers Stadium in Leicester.  Interestingly there are a couple of other stadiums in the list that used to be “named” but have now dropped the convention.  Middlesborough’s The Riverside started off life as the Cellnet and then the BT Cellnet stadium before reverting back to its proper name in 2003.  Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium was originally known as the Friends Provident St Mary’s Stadium, quite a mouthful before they withdrew their support in 2006. Oh, and who can forget the ridiculous situation at Newcastle United when St James’ Park was renamed the SportsDirect@St.James’ Park or something else ridiculous for a period of time.

Stadium rebranding his hardly the religious approach akin to the “cathedrals for the common man” is it?  For whose purpose is the naming of a stadium?  The players?  Will the team be more likely to turn performances up by 10% if they have a new name above their heads. The fans? Look at the situation in Dortmund.  Do the Borussia fans bedecked in their yellow and black say, obviously translated from our German cousins “Are you going down the Westfalonstadion today” or “Shall we head off to the Signal Iduna Park”?