Hawthorns name change not on the agenda

ALBION’S training ground was renamed to reflect its new sponsor – but there are no plans to rebrand The Hawthorns any time soon.

The Baggies announced last week they had signed a sponsorship deal for the club’s Walsall training facility to be renamed the Palm Training Ground.

The lucrative deal, the first of its kind for Albion, strengthened their relationship with Chinese construction firm Palm.

Palm, the company closely associated with the club’s controlling shareholder, Guochuan Lai, committed £6 million earlier this year to become principal shirt sponsor over a two-year period.

And Palm plans to build a number of West Bromthemed eco sports towns in China as the links between club and company continue to grow.

But chief executive Martin Goodman says there are no plans to sell the naming rights to Albion’s proud home for the past 117 years.

“That’s not on the agenda at the moment,” he said. “We would have to have a consultation with the fans if we were to go down that route. But it’s not something on our agenda because we are concentrating on other commercial areas.”

Albion are the latest Premier League club to sell the naming rights to their training ground. Manchester United got the ball rolling when they sold the title of their Carrington base to insurance giant Aon in 2013.

That particular deal will bank United in the region of £150 million over the course of the eight-year deal.

The name of Everton’s training ground changed to USM Finch Farm in January after the club signed a sponsorship deal with one of the world’s largest private holding companies.

“It’s a commercial opportunity which is one of the many we are looking into,” Goodman said. “It’s to help the business. There is a commercial gain for the club out of the renaming.”

The club would not reveal the value of the new sponsorship deal, but said it was proportionate to the Albion’s global standing and stature.

Football’s biggest authorities keep a close eye on such deals to ensure they are legitimate and priced at what is the ‘going rate’.