Leeds United are in talks over a lucrative link-up with energy drink giant Red Bull that could lead to the renaming of the club’s Elland Road ground. It is being reported that top-level discussions have started between the club and the company about a possible shirt sponsorship agreement.
No-one involved in those discussions is prepared to go on record as to how far reaching any deal could be. But today’s revelation is likely to prompt speculation that a stadium naming rights deal could also be under consideration.
Leeds United are in talks over a lucrative link-up with energy drink giant Red Bull that could lead to the renaming of the club’s Elland Road ground. It is being reported that top-level discussions have started between the club and the company about a possible shirt sponsorship agreement.
No-one involved in those discussions is prepared to go on record as to how far reaching any deal could be. But today’s revelation is likely to prompt speculation that a stadium naming rights deal could also be under consideration.
Such deals have been increasingly seen as a good way of raising revenue by many aspiring clubs, but they are often unpopular with fans who use the traditional name anyway. It is a route that Manchester United or Liverpool would not go down, but the naming of the successor to Highbury as the Emirates has worked well. Indeed, it is probably best done when a club moves to a new stadium.
Red Bull is already involved with a string of football clubs around the world – the New York Red Bulls and Austria’s FC Red Bull Salzburg play in grounds named after the company. However, presumably the name of the club itself would not change, although that may come one day.