Modern football is changing dynamically, with the sport adapting to recent trends and developments in the world.
Clubs are also devising numerous methods to generate revenue. They sign sponsorship deals on various items ranging from their shirts, training grounds, seats, kits, food, drinks, transportation and stadium naming rights.
Fans may not necessarily welcome the idea of seeing their favourite teams renaming their stadium due to sponsorship reasons, but the huge money on offer from such deals is difficult for clubs to turn down.
The most recent is Barcelona’s deal with music streaming giant Spotify; that will allow the Blaugranas’ iconic Camp Nou Stadium to be renamed to Spotify Camp Nou.
In this article, FootballOrbit brings you top 15 clubs who named their stadium after their sponsors.
1. Arsenal (Emirates Stadium)
The Gunners named their home ground after their sponsors, Emirates Airlines. The stadium was formerly known as Ashburton Grove (and popularly called Highbury).
It was opened in 2006 and it is located in London.
2. Manchester City (Etihad Stadium)
Man City’s stadium was formerly called the City of Manchester Stadium and was opened in 2003. In 2011, it was renamed to Etihad Stadium after their official sponsors, Etihad Airways.
Etihad Airways is the second national air carrier of the United Arab Emirates, with Emirates Airlines being the other. The owners of Man City are from the Abu Dhabi Royal Family.
3. Athletico Madrid (Wanda Metropolitano)
The Metropolitano was opened in 1994 and renovated in 2017, Athletico moved there after the renovation. The stadium was renamed to Wanda Metropolitano after the club’s sponsors, Wanda Group — a Chinese multinational conglomerate.
Athletico Madrid’s former stadium was the Vicente Calderón.
4. Barcelona (Spotify Camp Nou)
The Camp Nou is one of the most iconic stadiums in the world and was opened in 1957. The stadium’s name has never been changed before but Barcelona recently struck a four-year deal with Spotify that will see the famous stadium renamed to Spotify Camp Nou.
The deal will take effect from the 2022/23 season, it was also included in the deal that Spotify’s name will be branded on Barca’s men and women team shirts and training kits.
5. Borussia Dortmund (Signal Iduna Park)
Previously known as the Westfalenstadion and opened in 1974, Borussia Dortmund’s stadium was renamed after Signal Iduna — a German insurance company.
6. Juventus (Allianz Stadium)
Based in Turin, The Old Lady’s stadium was opened in 2011 and was called the Juventus Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, it was renamed to Allianz Stadium, after Allianz — a German multinational financial service company.
7. Bayern Munich (Allianz Arena)
Like Juventus, Bayern named their stadium after Allianz. It was opened in 2005.
8. Leicester City (King Power Stadium)
Leicester City’s stadium was known as the Walkers Stadium before, and was opened in 2002. It was renamed after King Power — a Thai travel retail company that is also owned by the owners of Leicester City (the Srivaddhanaprabha family).
9. RB Leipzig (Red Bull Arena)
Leipzig’s stadium was renamed to Red Bull Arena after Red Bull — an Austrian energy drink company. It was formerly called the Zentralstadion and was opened in 2004 (it got renovated in 2015).
10. Olympique Lyon (Groupama Stadium)
Lyon’s home ground was called the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in the past, and was opened in 2016. It was renamed to Groupama Stadium after the club’s official sponsors, Groupama — a French insurance company.
11. RB Salzburg (Red Bull Arena)
Like Leipzig, Austrian giants Salzburg are owned by Red Bull and their stadium is named after the energy drink company.
RB Salzburg’s stadium was previously known as Stadion Wals-Siezenheim and was opened in 2003.
12. Olympique Marseille (Orange Velodrome)
Marseille’s stadium was renamed after Orange — a French multinational telecommunications corporation.
Formerly, the stadium was called Stade Velodrome. It was opened in 1937.
13. PSV Eindhoven (Philips Stadion)
PSV named their stadium after official sponsors, Philips — a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation. The stadium was opened in 1910 and was formerly known as Zentralstadion.
14. Zenith St. Petersburg (Gazprom Arena)
Zenith’s stadium was renamed after Gazprom — a Russian multinational energy corporation.
The stadium was previously known as the Krestovsky Stadium. It was opened in 2017.
15. New York Red Bulls (Red Bull Arena)
Major League Soccer side, New York Red Bulls, are the third club owned by Red Bull on this list. Like the previous two, the club’s stadium — which was opened in 2010 — is named after the Red Bull.
