Alcohol, gambling and tobacco companies will not be considered as naming-rights partners for London Stadium, the home of English Premier League football club West Ham United, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
Stadium stakeholders are continuing to search for a main sponsor that would mitigate financial challenges in relation to the venue, which was built as the centrepiece for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and has since become West Ham’s new permanent home.
However, the latest report, citing sources close to the London Legacy Development Corporation, the facility’s landlord, said that companies deemed to be from “inappropriate” sectors would not be considered. West Ham and online bookmaker Betway have a six-season shirt sponsorship deal that started earlier this year.
However, despite narrowing the field of potential partners for the venue, stadium naming-rights partnerships from the three so-called ‘vice’ sectors are extremely rare in the top two tiers of English football. Stoke City’s home ground, which was renamed bet365 Stadium in 2016, two years before the club’s relegation from the Premier League, is a noticeable recent exception.
A six-year deal worth £20m with telecommunications firm Vodafone was reportedly on the brink of being finalised in 2017 before talks broke down.
Last month it emerged that West Ham’s vice-chairman, Karren Brady, had been brought on board to assist in the search for a new naming-rights partner.
Image: Hammersfan
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