The worst stadium names in the world

The age of sponsored football stadiums has thrown up plenty of interesting names since the turn of the century, and with more and more football clubs electing to sell the naming rights to their stadiums, the bar can almost certainly get lower.

Below, we run through the worst current stadium names in the world, and take a look at some horrors from the past.

Worst current stadium names in the world

Wankdorf Stadion, Switzerland

The home of Swiss side Young Boys, the Wankdorf Stadion has grown in prominence in recent years following the club's strong performances in Europe. For locals, the stadium name is nothing out of the ordinary, but for English supporters, it is amusing for obvious reasons.

Middelfart Stadium, Denmark

The Middelfart Stadium in Denmark is another foreign stadium which, by pure fluke, has an amusing name for English-speaking supporters. The stadium is the home of Middelfart BK, a side that competes in the third tier of Danish football, meaning English fans are unlikely to ever see their teams play here.

Toughsheet Community Stadium, Bolton

The Toughsheet Community Stadium will always be known as the Reebok Stadium for those of a certain age. Since Reebok lost the naming rights in 2014, it has been known as the Macron Stadium and the University of Bolton Stadium, until Toughsheet bought the rights. If you say Toughsheet quickly enough, it sounds like something entirely different.

The London Stadium, London

The London Stadium makes the list because it's so bland. We're sure the goal was to secure a naming sponsor for the stadium following the Olympics, but once that wasn't possible, why not keep it as the Olympic Stadium? That sounds far better and more iconic than the ‘London Stadium'.

Red Bull Arena, multiple

Red Bull's football empire has become so accepted by the footballing world that everyone seems to be okay with multiple stadiums in Europe being called the ‘Red Bull Arena'. This isn't an acceptable name for a football stadium – it's an energy drink!

Worst stadium names in history

SportsDirect.Com @ St James' Park Stadium, Newcastle

Mike Ashley became public enemy number one in November 2011 when he renamed St James' Park to include Sports Direct's title. The situation nearly worsened in October 2012, when payday loan company Wonga.com became Newcastle's main commercial partner, securing the naming rights in the process. There were concerns that the stadium would be renamed the ‘Wonga Stadium', but the company ultimately decided to simply rename it ‘St James' Park', instead.

Pizza Hut Park, Dallas

Now called the Toyota Stadium, the home of FC Dallas in Major League Soccer (MLS) was known as Pizza Hut Park for seven years from 2005 to 2012. During that time, the stadium was affectionately known as The Oven, an appropriate name given the climate in Texas.

EasyCredit Stadion, Nurnberg

Nurnberg's stadium is currently called the Max-Morlock-Stadion, but it has had several naming sponsors over the years. The most ridiculous was between 2006 and 2012, when it was called the easyCredit Stadion, which felt crass and irresponsible in equal measure.

KitKat Crescent, York

Non-league clubs have to be less picky when it comes to sponsorship deals, which is what ultimately led to York City's ground being named KitKat Crescent between 2005 and 2010. The stadium reverted to being called Bootham Crescent before the club moved to a new home in 2020.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium, Graz

We are all for football clubs celebrating local heroes, but was it really necessary for Sturm Graz to name their new stadium the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Stadion when it first opened in 1995? The stadium kept its name for 10 years before being renamed the Stadion Graz-Liebenau. Today, it is known as the Merkur-Arena.