London trio’s fight for naming rights
BY GAINING planning permission this week for their new ground at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will make it a three-way capital heavyweight contest with Tottenham and West Ham to get elusive naming rights.
Spurs, who will finish their White Hart Lane building work at least two years ahead of Chelsea, have demanding chairman Daniel Levy looking for a long-term deal worth more than double Arsenal’s £150million Emirates Stadium contract in 2012 that included a shirt sponsorship.
Ideally, Levy wants a 20-year agreement worth £20m annually, knowing how difficult it would be to re-name a UK stadium for a second time, and there is talk of possible Chinese investment.
The difficulty of securing naming rights is shown by Indian technology company Mahindra Group, who failed to agree the £4.5million-a-year asking price for West Ham’s London Stadium despite being in advanced talks. The hooligan trouble that marred the early games there will not have helped the search for another sponsor.
Chelsea, whose building development is privately financed so far by owner Roman Abramovich, are concentrating on the search for building contractors ahead of the hunt for naming backers. ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, president of UEFA, does not claim to be a TV rights expert. But in speaking to the British press in Zurich this week, he knows enough to understand the importance of UK terrestrial involvement in the next Champions League contract — with the tender being launched next week — following the paltry viewing figures on subscription channel BT Sport. GARY NEVILLE, who likes to lecture sports journalists on how to do their job, will not be giving his full focus on the day to preparing for his co-commentary role on Sky Sports’ coverage of Manchester United v Liverpool tomorrow. Instead Neville (right) will be the main attraction at a sold-out question-and-answer session at his coowned Hotel Football next to Old Trafford for 200 people paying £145 (juniors half price) each for the hospitality package.
Meanwhile, the Kersal Moor Residents’ Association, set up in response to a new stadium for Salford City, are to field a candidate at the upcoming council election in response to their alleged lack of consultation before permission was approved. The club are co-owned by Neville and his Class of 92 Manchester United teammates. And the association also claim there has been no subsequent contact with residents as promised by Neville at the council meeting on December 15. A Class of 92 spokeswoman said Neville was due to meet Salford locals on Monday. A GOOD early test of the mettle of ITV’s
The Opening Show racing preview programme will be how successfully presenter Oli Bell can take wily Jockey Club chief executive Simon Bazalgette to task for his organisation’s scandalous blueprint to turn historic Kempton Park into a housing estate.