London Stadium naming deal in trouble

The latest crowd trouble at West Ham’s London Stadium is going to make securing a naming deal more difficult.   The spectacle of fighting fans is not one a sponsor needs to boost their image.

It was always going to be difficult because what is on offer is really the sponsorship of West Ham.  The stadium would have to be debranded for other events such as the World Athletics Championship next summer.   Moreover, sponsors prefer to put their name to a new stadium.

The latest crowd trouble at West Ham’s London Stadium is going to make securing a naming deal more difficult.   The spectacle of fighting fans is not one a sponsor needs to boost their image.

It was always going to be difficult because what is on offer is really the sponsorship of West Ham.  The stadium would have to be debranded for other events such as the World Athletics Championship next summer.   Moreover, sponsors prefer to put their name to a new stadium.

In addition, there is a large number of teams, events and stadiums looking for sponsors at present.  The background of economic uncertainty makes them unwilling to commit to multi-year deals.  Brand expert and Synergy chief executive officer Tim Crow told The Times that the UK sponorship market is the softest in living memory.   He had never seen more businesses and events looking for sponsors than in 30 years in the industry.