Tottenham could overtake Man United with a lucrative industrial move worth more than £150m.
Man United is lately going through a transformation of the partial ownership of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who bought a 27 per cent stake in the club for £1. 2bn in February.
As well as revamping the squad with additions such as Leny Yoro, Ratcliffe is looking to find efficiencies on stage and ensure the club lives up to its earning potential.
Some of the actions he has taken have proved incredibly controversial, such as the decision to lay off 250 United workers earlier this summer.
However, something less debatable on which he has focused is the stadium.
Old Trafford has been in need of renovations for some time now, with the lowest point coming when television cameras showed rainwater running down its roof after the defeat to Arsenal in May.
This is one of the reasons why the Ratcliffe regime is proposing a redevelopment or, potentially, a complete reconstruction of the historic stadium.
When it comes to their own turf, Spurs are at the end of the spectrum.
Their 62,000-seat stadium built on the White Hart Lane site is widely regarded as one of the most productive in the world, generating more than £100 million in profits during the season.
And the latest developments further illustrate the importance of having such an illustrious stadium.
Daniel Levy, Ratcliffe’s counterpart at Spurs, praised the monetary prospects of a naming rights deal when they moved into the new stadium in 2019.
When Todd Kline was hired as chief business officer, his top priority was securing a top-quality naming rights deal.
However, Kline has now left Spurs for Chelsea and the club seems closer to welcoming a spouse to the stadium.
Levy said the benefits of having the club’s own logo linked to the stadium, which is strangely called Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, are greater than they originally thought.
But it’s hard to believe that the reputational benefits outweigh the gross money that would be generated through a naming rights deal.
And the latest study by financial industry experts, Kroll, agrees with that belief, suggesting that Spurs’ naming rights are worth just over £15m per season.
Over the course of a minimum ten-year contract, that would be £150m at Tottenham.
Significantly, that’s more than United’s naming rights, which Kroll estimates are worth £12. 85 million a year.
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Never in the history of the Premier League have so many clubs tried to reach an agreement on naming rights.
United are believed to be courting potential sponsors in that department, while West Ham’s London stadium and Everton’s upcoming new home at Bramley Moore Dock also need a partner.
Spurs’ rights prices will improve across their geography, with London clubs commanding higher prices.
The fact that they host many outdoor football events (NFL exhibitions and Beyoncé concerts, for example) also opens doors that other stadiums simply can’t.
However, as the year passes without a deal, the price of the Spurs naming rights decreases.