In November 2012, Arsenal and Emirates announced a new deal, in part granting Emirates the naming rights to Arsenal’s stadium until 2028.
The deal was worth £150m in total, but this total included official match and shirt sponsorship to 2019.
The naming aspect therefore only made up a small portion of the deal, but with the Gunners tied down for the next 11 years, it doesn’t seem that the stadium will be renamed anytime soon. Recently, there were rumours that Arsenal (or Emirates) were looking to get out of the kit deal at least, but even though that doesn’t seem to be the case, what would happen to the stadium?
When this deal does come to an end, there are various options for what could happen next:
1. Move to another sponsor
As with Stoke City’s Bet365 Stadium, Arsenal simply pick up a new sponsor in 2028. Stoke’s stadium was initially called the Britannia Stadium, after a deal with the Britannia Building Society, but when this deal came to an end, they just moved from one sponsor to another.
2. Ditch sponsorship altogether
Arsenal ditch the sponsorship deals altogether, in favour of naming the stadium after the location it stands in, similar to Highbury. This would lead to the stadium being called “Ashburton Grove”, a fan-favourite option. However, missing out on the extra income brought in by a new naming deal doesn’t seem like a likely decision from the folks in charge at Arsenal.
3. They get creative
The club gets more creative with its naming. A recent Reddit thread threw up such genius ideas as “WengerDome” and “Flamini Enterprises Stadium”, either of which would probably win if the naming was left to a public vote.
Ultimately, what seems most likely is that the club stick with the option that brings in the most money.
The stadium name doesn’t affect what happens on the pitch like having an extra £10m to buy another player does.
But with 11 years still to run, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…