Everton have held discussions with a number of potential partners over the naming rights for their new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock.
The 52,888-seater ground, currently known as the Everton Stadium, is set for completion ahead of the 2024/25 season and is expected to be something of a "game changer" for the club from a commercial perspective, opening up new revenue streams and significantly boosting their matchday revenue potential by servicing demand for tickets.
Over the course of 2022 the stadium has risen from the ground next to the River Mersey and is now taking shape, with 2023 set to see the next phase of the project kick in with the fitting out of the arena itself.
READ MORE: Everton chief makes huge new stadium claim as key fans' request is 'delivered'
READ MORE: Dwight McNeil makes 'difficult' Everton transfer admission amid rallying cry to team-mates
Financing for the project, of which a chunk has been provided by Everton's majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, is a major target for the next 12 months, with the ECHO understanding from US financial sources that talks have been held with prospective investors in recent months, with the club having engaged the services of major American banks JP Morgan and MUFG to facilitate the search for external funding.
The completion of the stadium is something that Moshiri has targeted as his legacy for some time, the club having been hamstrung commercially by Goodison Park and their inability to be able to maximise revenue streams at their traditional home where they have been resident since 1892.
Everton CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale revealed in an open letter to fans last week that two new partners for the stadium were close to being announced, although it is understood that neither of those deals relates to the sale of the naming rights for the stadium.
The naming rights for Everton Stadium are among the most lucrative the club has to offer and will see them go in a direction that they have never done previously.
In September of this year the club engaged the services of US sports and entertainment consulting firm Elevate Sports Ventures to support their search for a naming rights partner for the stadium, with Elevate having considerable experience in securing similar deals for US sports teams on strong financial terms over long periods of time. Over the past 18 months Elevate have delivered stadium naming rights success in the US, landing a 10-year deal for the San Jose Earthquakes MLS side for their home to be known as PayPal Park, while the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL team landed a new stadium naming rights deal over 15 years with financial technology firm Acrisure.
Interest has arrived in becoming a stadium naming rights partner from a number of territories, including North America, while the re-emergence of some industries that were badly effected by the COVID-19 pandemic but that have since returned to profitability is understood to have aided the search for a new partner, the market more buoyant than it was at the start of the year.
But while talks are ongoing with some partners the ECHO understands that the major deal around a stadium naming rights partner is not imminent or nearing completion, although talks with some partners have made progress.
For Everton 2022 has been one filled with challenges.
In January of 2020 the club entered into an exclusivity deal with former club partners USM Holdings where the Alisher Usmanov-owned firm would pay £30m for first refusal on the naming rights for the Bramley-Moore Dock build.
In February of this year, as Russia's military invasion of Ukraine saw sanctions placed on those with historic ties to Russian president Vladmir Putin, the relationship between USM and Everton was ended, as Usmanov one of those to be sanctioned. In response to the sanctions, Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri stepped down from his role as chairman of the board at USM as all ties were cut.
Everton were able to bank that £30m, but the move to appoint Elevate to lead the search for a new naming rights partner effectively draws the final line under the USM relationship; there never really being any kind of way back for it regardless if sanctions were to be lifted.
The Blues have since moved in a new direction and have added behind the scenes to their commercial team in an attempt to address the club's need for continued commercial growth. In the past six months they have brought on board nine new partners, including the front of shirt sponsor (Stake.com) and sleeve partner (BOXT).
There has also been takeover talk that has been rumbling on the in the background with Moshiri having been in talks with a US consortium led by real estate tycoon Maciek Kaminski and featuring former Manchester United and Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon, and US oil magnate John Thornton during the summer. Those takeover talks came to nothing and Moshiri has since reaffirmed his commitment to ownership of the club through an open letter to supporters. Kaminski is understood to remain interested in investing in the stadium project but talks have not progressed since where they were left in July. Another reported interested party, the special purpose acquisition company LAMF Global Ventures, are understood to no longer be in the picture.
READ MORE:
- Dwight McNeil makes 'difficult' Everton transfer admission amid rallying cry to team-mates
- Everton chief makes huge new stadium claim as key fans' request is 'delivered'
- Everton coach explains January transfer plans as 'exciting' Tom Cannon message sent
- Frank Lampard explains Amadou Onana's new Everton role amid 'better option' midfield claim
- Everton transfer priority is clear but Frank Lampard must make Tom Cannon decision
