Construction of Everton's new stadium is underway. According to plans, it is set to be completed before the 2025/2026 season. The club is currently searching for a company to acquire naming rights for the facility.

New stadium, new opportunities

Everton's move to their new home on the banks of the River Mersey will open countless revenue streams previously unavailable to the club. Selling the naming rights for a place as iconic and ingrained in the fans’ structures as Goodison Park was never on the table. However, it's different with The Toffees' new home. Everton Stadium will likely have a different name even before the club fully relocates there.

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Collaboration with Americans key to success?

Toffees' Commercial Director, Richard Kenyon, announced through the club's official website the collaboration with a company specializing in stadium naming rights sales. As early as 2022, Everton engaged the American company Elevate Ventures to work with the club's commercial team in finding a partner for the stadium. In the past, Elevate has successfully found sponsors for stadiums for teams like the Earthquakes and Pittsburgh Steelers.

There are differences between the stadium naming rights market in the UK and the USA. The value of such marketing assets is significantly higher in the USA due to greater brand visibility resulting from less competition. Sponsorship by large companies headquartered in the cities where stadiums operate is largely a trend.

Daniel Haddad, Chief Commercial Strategy Officer at the global sports agency Octagon, believes Everton made a wise move by partnering with a company like Elevate, through which the club sold rights to a multifunctional facility operational 365 days a year. The venue in Bramley-Moore Dock will not only be a football stadium where 19 league matches are played annually.

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Following Los Angeles' lead

With massive transactions valued at $600 or even $700 million in recent years at like SoFi Stadium and Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, there is a temptation to look across the ocean, see what has been achieved there, and leverage it in one's own backyard.

In the US there are businesses that are very specialised in the area of stadium naming rights. […] They have a lot more best practices in actually how to create a rights package that is best in class and fit for purpose, Daniel Haddad said in an interview with the Liverpool Echo.