Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has hinted that his company would be interested in acquiring naming rights to Everton’s state-of-the-art new stadium.
USM Holdings, the holding company for Usmanov’s business interests, already holds naming rights to Everton’s Finch Farm training ground through a five-year deal agreed in January 2017.
Everton revealed the final designs for its new Bramley Moore Dock stadium last month as plans were submitted to Liverpool City Council. Everton hopes the 52,000-seat stadium will have a “transformational” impact on North Liverpool and the club has plans to move into the venue for the 2023-24 Premier League season.
Usmanov, a former shareholder in Premier League team Arsenal, is a close friend of Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri and has been discussing the possibility of investing in the Merseyside club.
In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Usmanov said: “I am thinking about my investment into this club. There are many ways (to invest). It is not obligatory for me to participate myself. I could sponsor them. I could be a shareholder.”
He added: “They are going to build a new stadium. Why not the USM Arena?”
Usmanov, who is also president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), sold his 30-per-cent stake in Arsenal to majority shareholder Stan Kroenke in 2018.
Image: Everton
