Paul Fletcher, currently 
Chief Executive at Coventry 
City's new £60 million 
Arena project which opens 
in 2004, examines the 
layers of sponsorship deals
which stadia are involved 
with and warns that 
all is not well.

ver the past decade we have all read with interest newspaper reports involving: 'United sign £80 million Sponsorship deal', 'City announce £90 million Shirt Sponsorship agreement' and immediately the supporters think that the exact amount will be handed over to the manager to buy new players. Ha ha.

The problem that all of us commercial people have is simply this, how much money gets paid into the Bank? As we write our business plans and funding projections sometimes we can be blinded by these reported numbers, which are, almost every time misleading. OK, it is possible for United to get £80 million providing 50,000 supporters buy 200,000 mobile phones and make 1,000,000 telephone calls each year, or if City sell 100,000 replica shirts in 750 countries. Again, what we all want to know is simply this 'How much is actually paid into the Bank, once an executive box; season tickets; hospitality tickets, car park passes and a furtherwide range of benefits, are deducted from the total?'

In the early days sponsorship was easy. Local businessmen, who watched their favourite team with fond affection, would gladly 'sponsor' a perimeter advertising board. They got little return from this apart from the satisfaction of putting something back into the Club their father brought them to as a kid. In the sixties and seventies the donation element vanished as smart marketing executives saw a real value in perimeter signage once television came on the scene. Then everything that moved (or stayed put) was a potential sponsorship revenue stream.

The 'blockbuster' sponsorship myth probably began in the Boardroom as boastful Chairmen, fuelled up with gin and tonics after a sound victory would boast, exaggerate and lie through their teeth. 'How much did you get for your shirt sponsorship Tommy?' '£1.5 million' comes the reply. ' Oh we got £2 million for ours' and onward and upward the dreams and lies continue.

The myth is then perpetuated by these wonderful 'Scientific Market Research Sponsorship Specialists' who will write you a 500 page report for £50k to tell you how much you should get for your sponsorship (but they won't tell you how to get it). In fact I feel that a very strange sponsorship phenomena has evolved recently. Do you know that there are more people out there selling sponsorship 'reports' than there are people actually selling sponsorship! Ha ha again.

In my current role at Coventry I was handed a encyclopaedia thick report on sponsorship commissioned by my predecessor. It contained the usual 'codswallop' but had two case histories about both the McAlpine and Reebok naming rights, two deals that I had completed. 
  

On both occasions the sponsorship fees quoted were wildly inaccurate. Although sadly I have to shoulder some of the blame, as I too am not prepared to ever divulge the true net value of the sponsorship deals I have concluded. Why should I? If everyone else is exaggerating so will I, otherwise my board will think I've completed a poor deal. And the myth goes on. So all is fair, providing that not of us believe any figures we read. I know that the Banks don't.

The Naming Rights Myth

In America, numerous long term 'naming rights' deals have been struck with some major multi National Corporations and as this information filters through to the UK it can only help position this type of sponsorship as an acceptable form of corporate advertising.
  

 
McAlpine Stadium – RIBA 
Building of the Year 1995.

 
Reebok Stadium – BCI 
Building of the Year 1998.

To date a number of new stadiums have been 'named' in the UK. These are split between re-branding an existing venue (e.g. The Fosters Oval) and naming a new venue (e.g. The Walkers Stadium). The list to date is as follows:

• The McCain Stadium, Scarborough
• Fosters Oval
• Bass Headingly
• The New Den, Millwall
• The Deva Stadium, Chester
• The Sixfields Stadium, Northampton
• The Bescot Stadium, Walsall
• The Nynex (now Manchester Evening News) Arena
• The Mc Alpine Stadium, Huddersfield
• The 'Pulse' Stadium at Valley Parade Bradford
• The Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• The BT Cellnet Riverside Stadium, Middlesborough
• The Britannia Stadium, Stoke
• The Stadium of Light, Sunderland
• Pride Park, Derby
• The Majeski Stadium, Reading
• The Friends and Provident St Mary's Stadium, Southampton
• Eircom Park, Dublin
• The Walkers Stadium, Leicester

This list provides a varied view of stadia naming. Some are not commercial deals (for example The Stadium of Light), others are named after a person or a place (eg. the Majeski Stadium and Pride Park) one stadium was named for over twelve months and was never even built (Eircom Park).

With two of these stadiums the sponsors name is lost within the naming title; The BT Cellnet Riverside Stadium, named 'The Riverside Stadium' by the media and the Friends and Provident St Mary's Stadium, named 'St Mary's Stadium' by the media. Far cleaner examples of stadia naming are found with 'The Britannia Stadium', 'The Walkers Stadium' and 'The Reebok Stadium'.
  

  
One common denominator between the majority of the current UK stadia naming rights deals (unlike the American examples) suggests a 'current relationship' with the stadium, in contrast to a pure commercial deal. For example, McCain frozen foods are based in Scarborough; Britannia Assurance are based in Stoke; Nynex needed to explain to the Manchester public who the company was that were digging up their pavements (the Nynex is now called The M.E.N. Arena - named after Manchester's local newspaper).

Further examples include - Alfred McAlpine built Huddersfield's stadium; Bass and Fosters had pouring rights deals with the two Cricket Clubs; Reebok originated in Bolton; Friends and Provident are based in Southampton, Walkers Crisps were shirt sponsors at Leicester. The 'Pulse Stadium at Valley Parade' was a simple contra deal with the local commercial radio station in exchange for free airtime (reported @ £400k).

Blockbuster Deals

The Nynex Arena 'naming' sponsorship was a phenomenal success. Nynex were quoted as saying "for a company who require immediate name recognition, branding a rare flagship opportunity works extremely well".

Reebok are delighted with their sponsorship of Bolton's new stadium. Over the last three years they have used the venue for International sales conferences, product launches, company events, on-pitch photo shoots and match day entertainment. The stadium is now often referred to, on both TV and radio, as 'The Reebok'.

As previously stated, the American experience provides a rich array of stadia naming sponsors, see 'Naming Rights Revenues' box for the highest gross revenues.

Although press reports indicate that some Premier League Clubs are looking to source a 'blockbuster' naming rights deal, I believe that it is pure fantasy. Although I am well prepared for a Premiership club naming rights deal to be announced at £50 million - whether I (or a bank) will believe these falsehoods is another story.

As a reported expert, I am often asked to advise, and speak about sponsorship. So if you are looking for a sponsor, here is my advice. Number one, never write a letter. Number two, look at the many companies in your area and ask yourself one simple question "What do I have to offer this company that will give a return of £1.50, for every £1.00 they invest?"

Imagine that you are sitting alongside the Chief Executive of a prospective sponsor, helping him to expand his business... How can your product or service help his business to grow? Find that, and you have found yourself a sponsor. What's the alternative? Well, you can always commission a sponsorship report!  
   

Paul Fletcher
After sixteen years as a professional footballer, where he played for Bolton Wanderers, Burnley and England U23, Paul Fletcher has become one of the few players who has successfully made the transition into the world of commerce. In addition to his Chief Executive and Commercial Directorship roles at major stadium projects with a total value of over £800 million, (McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield; Reebok Stadium, Bolton; Wembley National Stadium and Arena Stadium, Coventry) he has owned and operated four businesses, been a successful author and travelled extensively as an international speaker. Both the McAlpine Stadium and Reebok Stadium have won coveted 'Building of the Year' awards and Paul Fletcher was responsible for the naming rights contracts on both of these projects.

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