West Ham's home stadium is expected to change its name soon with a deal to be concluded on the naming rights.
First, it was the Olympic Stadium where Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and company excelled in their respective sports to pick up their medals in what was a landmark British sporting event at the 2012 London Olympics.
In more recent times, it has been the London Stadium with West Ham slowly but surely growing a little bit closer to their new home following the historic departure from the Boleyn Ground at Upton Park.
Contents
The Allianz Stadium – home of West Ham United?
The Hammers' European adventures over the last couple of seasons have created many memorable nights at the east London venue, firstly as they went close in the 2021/22 Europa League then last season, the Europa Conference League was won in Prague, with many happy London Stadium nights before and after it.
Now, West Ham looks set to join a band that contains Bayern Munich, Juventus, Rapid Vienna, and Nice to have their stadium naming rights held by insurance giants Allianz.
Harry Kane plays at the Allianz Arena, Juve have the Allianz Stadium whilst the south of France is where the Allianz Riviera is found. Could we then be set to have the Allianz London come into Premier League vocabulary? It appears we will find out very soon with talks at an advanced stage.
As reported by Sport Business, “the company is understood to be in advanced discussions with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), the commercial rights owner for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, and is close to agreeing to an expansive sponsorship deal that encompasses the naming rights to the multi-event arena, as well as the wider 560-acre park that hosted the 2012 Games.”
EXCLUSIVE: Allianz is in pole position to end the long-running search for a naming rights sponsor for West Ham's London Stadium.
SportBusiness understands the insurance giant is in advanced talks over a deal to sponsor the stadium and wider Olympic Park.
— SportBusiness (@SportBusiness) November 16, 2023
Will club profit from West Ham stadium naming rights deal?
Reports indicate that West Ham will only profit from the deal if the figures involved exceed £4million and even then, that could be on a 50/50 basis with LLDC.
West Ham have not been driving the stadium sponsorship negotiations but that is one consequence of being tenants in Stratford, where they enjoy favourable terms to play at the venue. It is far from a perfect situation all-round with many fans still yearning for the belonging and identity of the Boleyn Ground but unfortunately, that is now consigned to history.
The London Stadium is still not profitable at present, but in addition to Premier League football, it does host other sports with UK Athletics continuing to use the facility and it has also reached a deal to remain the home of the London Series for Major League Baseball.
The Stage Front Stadium – another option for West Ham's ground?
In addition to Allianz, Maryland-based ticketing platform Stage Front was said to be a serious contender for the London Stadium naming rights, but their interest did not extend to the wider Olympic Park site.
The stadium is owned by E20 Stadium LLP, an entity set up by the LLDC – which is the commercial rights owner for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park site in East London that contains the stadium.
At this point, with the talks at a very advanced stage, a deal could be in place for the 2024/25 season but further news is expected soon.