Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been open for three-and-a-half years now. And it still does not have a sponsor.
When the ground opened in April 2019, with a 60,000-plus capacity, it was a revolutionary new stadium, hailed as one of the best in the world. There will no doubt have been companies queuing up to sign a lucrative exclusive stadium naming rights deal.
After all, Arsenal have a partnership with Emirates and Manchester City teamed up with Etihad when their grounds were built. But Spurs chairman Daniel Levy wanted to wait. He wanted to get the right deal. And until now the right deal has yet to come along.
READ MORE: Antonio Conte could make Oliver Skipp Tottenham decision that impacts Yves Bissouma at Brighton
And now reports have suggested that Google are in talks with Levy over naming rights for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But it is not the first time they have been linked with a deal, nor are they the first company to be tipped to sign a contract with the north Londoners.
The Athletic have reported "meaningful talks" between Google and Spurs over a deal although football.london understands no agreement with any company is close at this stage. Back in 2020 a picture of a model of Tottenham’s stadium said to be in Google’s head office in London sparked speculation that a deal could have been done with global brand, although nothing has come to fruition as yet.
Nike were also linked with a deal, with many supporters suggesting it could be called Nike Hart Lane if so, in an homage to the old ground, but Levy quashed those rumours with Spurs' current kit suppliers when he confirmed that no talks had been held with the company as "sponsoring stadiums is not what Nike do as a business".
Amazon have also been linked with a deal, with the Daily Mail reporting there had been "substantial interest" from the huge corporation who focused on Spurs in one of their All Or Nothing documentaries.
Other companies to have been linked include FedEx , Apple , Uber , the Qatar Investment Authority and HSBC , who could not come to an agreement over a figure, having had talks with the club.
Speaking in 2019, Levy said: "We are only going to do a naming rights deal if we get the right brand, in the right sector, on the right money. If we can’t meet those three criteria, we won’t do it. At the moment, we haven’t found a company that meets all three criteria. We are not really close to anything on that at the moment."
Levy was rumoured to be looking for a deal in the region of £250million for naming rights, but football.london understands the figure wanted by Levy and the club has always been much higher and in-keeping with some of the world's record deals.
Social Finance agreed a mammoth deal to place their name on the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers' new home in 2019. That deal for the SoFi Stadium, which will hold future Olympics and Superbowls, is reportedly worth more than £327million over 20 years, a similar sum to what insurance company MetLife signed for the New York Giants and Jets stadium in 2011.
The record for the highest amount overall sum paid for naming rights was for the Scotiabank Arena in 2017. An enormous £654million 20-year deal was agreed between Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia to rename Toronto's Air Canada Centre, the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey side and basketball outfit the Toronto Raptors.
READ NEXT:
Kane's emotional Ventrone tribute, Bissouma repeat - 5 things spotted in Brighton vs Tottenham
Antonio Conte pays tribute to Gian Piero Ventrone ahead of Brighton vs Tottenham
Tottenham fans told to be patient amid Antonio Conte criticism
What Hugo Lloris did after Tottenham's victory over Brighton
Antonio Conte's troublesome Tottenham concern he must address to hand Arsenal and Man City worry
