Football.London’s Alasdair Gold believes that Daniel Levy faces a dilemma over the stadium naming rights deal due to the financial impact of the coronavirus.
Spurs have already received a financial hit this summer since the NFL games scheduled to be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have been moved.
Other events, such as the Capital’s Summertime Ball, Anthony Joshua’s fight with Kubrat Pulev, and the Guns N’ Roses concert, are also unlikely to go ahead (Mirror).
The Lilywhites will reportedly be one of the worst affected clubs in the country if the Premier League decides to play next season behind doors, with Football Insider claiming that the club could stand to lose over £100 million in matchday revenue.
This puts Tottenham in a precarious situation given the substantial debt still owed on the stadium. One possible financial reprieve that Spurs could get is if they manage to find a buyer for the stadium’s naming rights.
Amazon have emerged as a contender for the naming rights with Levy said to be demanding as much as £25 million a season over at least 10 years (Daily Mail).
However, Gold believes that the Spurs chairman may be forced to lower his expectations since the club is in urgent need of cash at the moment.
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Gold said: “Spurs did not budget naming rights into their stadium construction which took the pressure off finding a sponsorship partner for the ground.
“However, it has now been more than a year since the stadium opened and Spurs have not yet found a deal they’ve been happy with.
“The sudden turning off of the football income tap has affected everyone, from clubs to sponsors, and I’d be stunned if it doesn’t force Tottenham into lowering some of their expectations for the money they’re looking for.
“Levy looks to the NFL and stadiums over there get enormous £300m-plus deals over 25 years for their naming rights.
“Spurs have a stadium that houses NFL, football and everything else and it’s state of the art so they will want top dollar. The problem is whether that top dollar has changed this year and how much they need a sudden influx of cash.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Given the global financial downturn as a result of the pandemic, I can’t see too many companies willing to pay the rumoured £25 million for ten seasons. In hindsight, it would have been beneficial had we had a naming rights deal in place already as it would have softened the financial blow of the pandemic.
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