For 119 years Newcastle United have called St James’ Park home, but in a victory for commercialism over romanticism, managing director Derek Llambias has decided there is nothing in a name other than sponsorship rights.
Newcastle have been searching for increased revenue sources since returning to the Premier League last year to give them the financial muscle to compete with the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal.
Although Manchester United are on a different level in terms of income generated and Chelsea and Manchester City are bankrolled by foreign billionaires, Newcastle feel they should be able to hold their own against the other main players in English football.
The move could net as much as £15 million a year, but while the financial thinking behind the name change makes sense if Newcastle are to have any hope of keeping their best players, it is likely that few supporters will see it that way in the short term.
Cynics will observe that the controversial announcement comes at a time when Newcastle sit third in the table and opposition to owner Mike Ashley is at its lowest level for more than three years.
“Our aim for Newcastle United is to continue to deliver success for the fans and everyone associated with the club,” said Llambias in a statement circulated on Wednesday evening. “We must make this club financially self-sufficient in order to deliver that success.
“To grow sustainably and allow us to invest in our future, we will need to rely increasingly heavily on commercial income.
“These are very difficult economic times and the board have a responsibility to maximise all revenue streams for the benefit of the Club. Stadium rebranding offers a lucrative way for clubs to secure significant additional income.
“When we initially launched our plans at the end of 2009, we invited sponsors to attach their brand to that of St. James’ Park.
“However it has become clear that in order to make the proposition as commercially attractive as possible, a potential sponsor must be given the opportunity to fully rebrand the stadium.
“Naming the stadium the Sports Direct Arena helps up to showcase the opportunity to interested parties. We are now actively seeking a long-term sponsor wishing to acquire full naming rights for the stadium.
“Our shirt sponsorship deal with Northern Rock will also expire at the end of this season, which presents would-be sponsors with the opportunity to acquire both the naming rights and shirt sponsorship deals.”
Despite possessing the third largest stadium in the country and the third largest average attendance, Newcastle are unable to compete commercially with the other leading clubs in the country because of their large overseas fan base and spin off sales.
As a result their wage budget, in Ashley’s drive for self-sufficiency, is considerably smaller than the other sides who consistently achieve European qualification.
Senior sources have told the Daily Telegraph the selling of naming rights will reduce that budget gap to a level playing field, although supporters are unlikely to be convinced until they see some proof of this greater spending power.
The fact the scrapping of the St James’ Park name will directly benefit Ashley’s Sports Direct business until a sponsor arrives will also anger many and has tossed a hand grenade into an atmosphere that has been overwhelmingly positive following Newcastle’s unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign.
Quite what manager Alan Pardew makes of the decision was unclear last night. Having successfully managed to unite the club and its supporters after a difficult summer in which three of the team’s most popular players — Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan and Jose Enrique — were allowed to leave, he has another unwanted distraction to deal with.
The stadium has officially been called Sports Direct at St James’ Park since November 2009, but few have used that title. From now on it will be known simply as the Sports Direct Arena until a new sponsor is found.
Although there was interest from some companies, all were reluctant to do so unless they were given full naming rights.
The renaming idea is part of a wider vision to turn the stadium into an all year round venue, with rock concerts and boxing matches just two of the alternative uses envisaged by the board.
Sunderland’s Stadium of Light has successfully turned itself into a summer music venue and has hosted the likes of Kings of Leon and Take That in recent years, while the ground formerly known as St James’ Park is solely a football arena.
Although several other Premier League clubs have sold naming rights and Chelsea are among those looking to change the name of Stamford Bridge, all have done so when moving into new stadiums.
Arsenal play at the Emirates Stadium, Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok, Stoke City at the Britannia and Wigan at the DW Stadium, the initials of chairman Dave Whelan.
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