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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Adam Jones

Everton new stadium naming rights situation laid bare after USM decision

Since Everton confirmed their intentions to build a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, understandable comparisons have been made with Tottenham Hotspur.

The north London club completed their new ground in 2019, which is a state-of-the-art multi-purpose arena in the spot where White Hart Lane used to be.

The Blues, meanwhile, are progressing nicely on a 52,888-seater stadium of their own on Liverpool's famous waterfront, which is set to be a huge boost not just for the club but for the city as a whole.

Recent news regarding Everton's agreements with USM, however, has raised a few questions, not least regarding the new ground's naming rights.

Last week the Blues announced they had suspended their commercial agreements with USM, Megafon and Yota due to Alisher Usmanov's ties with Vladimir Putin following Russia's ongoing military invasion of Ukraine.

That could have an impact on Bramley-Moore Dock's naming rights in the future.

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In January 2020, USM signed an "exclusive option" for naming rights on the stadium with a one-off payment of £30m being made for essentially first refusal.

Everton's suspension of their ties with USM has raised a few questions over this and what could happen in the future.

And perhaps Spurs' situation can offer something of an insight, although there are differences.

Tottenham are looking for one of the most lucrative deals possible thanks to the placement of their ground, its modern features, and its use for other sports such as American Football.

Speaking in a recent Q&A, football.london's Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold lifted the lid on the north London club's latest news with regard to their stadium naming rights.

He wrote: "From what I can gather there has been various discussions over naming rights but Spurs want to get the best possible deal for a stadium which is one of the world's best and they're looking for a long-term commitment.

"It doesn't appear as if anything is close right now but the club have certainly spoken to various interested parties over the years and continue to do so. It's under the remit of chief financial officer Todd Kline, who joined Spurs last year and has experience of putting together such deals.

"If they could somehow get something tied up before the end of the summer it could be perfectly timed to boost their transfer funds. However, it's already been almost three years since the stadium opened."

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Spurs are in no rush to confirm naming rights on their ground as they believe in their project, and Everton could find themselves in a similar scenario.

At this stage, with the club's decision on USM still being a "suspension" rather than anything further, it's still not yet clear exactly what the future will hold.

But, the conversation over naming rights for the Blues' new ground would not have been taking place in the near future regardless of last week's decision.

Everton have time on their hands before their new ground is due to open in 2024/25, and Spurs have even shown there is a possibility for that to go on longer.

That wouldn't be an ideal situation, of course, and the Blues would be looking to find a suitable naming rights partner at the right price before then.

But, with the construction process still relatively in its infancy, this is a conversation to be had long in the future regardless of the situation with USM.

Meanwhile, on Monday, it was announced Everton would not be taking up Liverpool City Council's option regarding the funding of their new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock.

It has been understood for some time the club would not be going down this route, instead choosing private funding options, but news to begin this week was official confirmation.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: "In this case, more than two years’ worth of planning and due diligence was carried out, with local leaders assured that the benefits of this project outweighed the risks and mitigation against risk was factored into the structure of the deal.

"However, in January 2022, Everton notified the LCRCA that it had found alternative sources of funding from the private sector and would therefore no longer require the £30m loan."

Without officially confirming the club had found other funding, that statement goes about as far as it could in that sense, which is undoubtedly positive news.

The Blues will now go down the private funding route for their state-of-the-art new ground as expected, alongside the significant amount of money already used by majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri.

So while Everton's decision last week over the commercial agreements might have some effects in the short-term, which are yet to be seen, the club's Bramley-Moore Dock stadium project should not be one of them.

In terms of potential naming rights, the Blues will have to wait and see, but that was always going to be a decision for the future.

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