Liverpool F.C. Confirms It Wants ?£250M for New Stadium Sponsorship; Debts Leave It No Choice

(MoneyWatch)  Liverpool F.C. owner Tom Hicks says he wants to sell naming rights to the club's new stadium for ?£250 million -- a record deal in football and possibly all of sport. The confirmation -- in The Times -- came a couple of days after Chelsea F.C. said it was on the market for a ?£100 million to ?£150 million partner for naming rights to Stamford Bridge.

BNET noted the existence of Liverpool's sponsorship plan in September.

Hicks believes that ?£250 million would take care of half the costs of building the new Anfield in Stanley Park:

"Naming rights are a global market," said Hicks. "We likely will partner with someone wanting global branding, unlike the US stadiums, which only worry about TV appeal in the States, similar to why Standard Chartered chose to partner with us on our shirts.

Such a deal would be bigger than the one struck by the New York Mets for Citi Field, which was ?£240 million spread over ?£20 years.

Liverpool will be eager to avoid the controversy currently swirling around Newcastle United F.C., where owners at the struggling club have struck a deal resulting in the this awful new stadium name: "sportsdirect.com@St James' Park Stadium."

Although the sale of naming rights is sometimes less than dignified, Liverpool doesn't have much choice. The club has debts of ?£200 million to ?£350 million and annual payments of ?£20 million to ?£30 million.

Image: Architects' rendering of the proposed new Anfield, which looks a bit like a toasted sandwich maker.

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