Managing director, Keith Edelman said a final decision on the 15-year deal expected to be announced towards the end of this year.
Speaking at the release of financial accounts for the year ending May 2004, Mr Edelman said: “We have already spoken to a number of companies - major companies. We are looking at any sector as long as they are compatible with the club in terms of their philosophy. This is a relationship that will go on for 15 years so it is important we can work with them. It will be ‘the Something Stadium’ and that will be a brand name.
“No one has done a naming rights deal like this in the UK. I think the largest one in Europe is about £2-2.5 million a year for 15 years. I’d hope we’d do better than that. The United States is higher but I don’t think we’ll be that sort of area,” said Mr Edelman.
Arsenal has always stated that the cost of the project would mean a sponsored name was inevitable. In March the club appointed Los Angeles-based firm Envision to manage the naming rights process, presenting an opportunity for blue chip brands to exploit an international marketing proposition.
Envision - who have secured over a billion dollars in sponsorship for professional sporting teams and venues including the STAPLES Center (home to the LA Lakers) - is charged with obtaining the multi-year deal, offering the prospective partner exclusive
naming rights and significant marketing benefits connected with the club’s new stadium and its two million annual visitors.
Arsenal commissioned research to explore the effect of corporate sponsorship and stadium naming by canvassing the opinions of fans of Bolton Wanderers and Hamburg SV, in a series of focus groups, on the sponsors of their stadia - Reebok and AOL respectively.
The study showed that supporters perceive the sponsor as highly committed to the club’s long-term future prospects and an integral part of the club, all it stands for and the surrounding local community.
Stadium sponsorship was also believed by the fans to convey an image of the sponsor being modern, dynamic and glamorous.
Find out more about naming rights through the SportBusiness report, 'How to Develop Effective Naming Rights Strategies'.
