Arsenal names ground Emirates Stadium in £100m deal

by Jennifer Whitehead,, Brand Republic 05-Oct-04, 14:20

LONDON - Arsenal has revealed the name of its new ground as Emirates Stadium, part of a sponsorship deal worth over £100m with the airline signed only a week after Chelsea said it was 'dropping' it as shirt sponsor.

Emirates had been the Chelsea shirt sponsor for the past five years, but the airline has now secured naming rights to Arsenal's new ground at Ashburton Grove in North London until the end of the 2020/2021 season, along with naming rights to the shirts when Arsenal's current deal with O2 expires at the end of the 2005/2006.

The deal also gives Emirates the right to advertising in the new stadium, merchandising rights and the right to promote and sell its official airline services by referring to the Arsenal brand. Arsenal said that the sponsorship fees were £90m, but that the absolute value of the deal is worth in excess of £100m.

The shirt deal with Chelsea was reported to have been worth £24m a year. When news that the club was dropping Emirates as a sponsor broke last week, Paul Smith, Chelsea business affairs director, said: "Although we regard Emirates highly, we believe the best type of sponsor for Chelsea, as the club embarks on a new global era, is a consumer brand."

However, with the Emirate link to Arsenal, Chelsea's hunt for a new sponsor appears to have been forced upon it.

Arsenal is at the top of the Premier League and riding high on a record of 48 unbeaten matches in the league.

The club already counts the Midlands-based airline BMI as one of its sponsors, along with shirt sponsor O2, and partners Nike, Samsung, Lucozade, JVC, Ladbrokes and BT.

Arsenal was the subject of the best-selling Nick Hornby novel 'Fever Pitch', which recounted the misery of life as a fan of the club in the 1980s until they win the league's 1988/1989 season.

In August, Emirates was named as the first official sponsor of referees and football officials at Premiership games. The airline was founded in 1985 and is based in Dubai.

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