Stamford Bridge Could Be Set For Sponsorship Name Change
Currently, Chelsea FC’s home ground Stamford Bridge is one of English football's biggest stadiums without a naming sponsorship deal.
Allianz sponsors the homes of Bayern Munich and Juventus, and now has its sights set on making a mark on English football. The Daily Mail have reported that Allianz had been in talks with Chelsea regarding becoming their principal shirt sponsor from next season.
The Club’s deal with mobile network Three has recently expired, and officials from Premier League stopped them creating a partnership with Paramount, the American TV network. Despite a Chelsea Supporters' Trust (CST) poll revealing that 77 per cent of 3,297 fan respondents oppose a gambling sponsor, online casino Stake is looks favourite to become Chelsea's shirt sponsor. This can only be for one year, before new rules preventing gambling companies from doing so come into play.
During Allianz's discussions with Chelsea, club chiefs were sounded out about a potential stadium naming deal. The Germans, who declined to comment on the report, are said to be seriously weighing up a major, long-term partnership, but only once the future of Chelsea’s home is confirmed.
Earlier in the year, it was claimed that Chelsea had decided to commit £2billion to develop Stamford Bridge as opposed to building a new stadium in Earl's Court. Co-controlling owner Todd Boehly is reportedly poised to approve the project, and is just waiting on confirmation of costs and the time frame.
This would make Stamford Bridge the eighth member of Allianz’s 'family of stadiums', having already signed naming rights deals with clubs in Minnesota, Munich, Nice, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Turin, and Vienna. Should The Blues decide to sell their own naming rights, then they'd join the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City in doing so.
