Tottenham are seeking a £400million-plus naming rights deal that blows Manchester City’s Etihad agreement out of the water, according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper claim Spurs are working on finding a company willing to pay a record-breaking sum to be associated with the new White Hart Lane stadium.
This comes after chairman Daniel Levy revealed to the Tottenham Supporters Trust last week now that the 62,000-seater venue will not be called the “Nike Stadium” as he claimed no agreement was “in place” with any company.
OPINION
With the gleaming new stadium ready to be unveiled for its first match next month and a series of test events planned before the venue is signed off, attention will start to turn to how the London giants will pay off their mounting debts. A loan of £637million was secured to fund the stadium and the pressure is on Spurs’ commercial department to maximise its revenue streams. As ever, Levy is calling the shots behind the scenes and attempting to extract every possible penny out of the venue which secures the club’s future for generations to come. The chairman has held out for years for a £20million-a-year naming rights deal, believing it is possible even in a difficult market. Others are not convinced, pointing out how Man City’s naming rights deal was part-funded by the club’s super-rich Qatari owners and does not represent actual market value. Nevertheless, don’t expect the new ground to be called new White Hart Lane for too long. At some point, it’s inevitable that Levy and the commercial team will come to an agreement with a blue-chip company for naming rights.