Stadium naming rights for sale ahead of World Cup

Creative Commons/Wikimedia/saudipics

• Saudi hosting World Cup 2034
• 15 stadiums to be used
• Rights worth millions of dollars

It is early days yet but the commercial case for local and international private sector companies sponsoring sports arenas in Saudi Arabia may yet emerge, after the 2034 host of the Fifa World Cup opened its stadiums to naming rights.

For the moment, however, it looks as if state-backed companies with a mandate to promote the kingdom as well as themselves will dominate the space, even as sports in Saudi Arabia becomes increasingly commercialised. 

“In the early stages, sponsors may primarily be state-backed entities, but the aspiration will be to attract private-sector interest in naming rights as matchday and TV audiences grow,” said Ben Gordon, associate partner at Albright Stonebridge Group, a consultancy based in Washington DC.

“As Saudi Arabia becomes increasingly prominent in the boxing and mixed martial arts world, both Saudi and foreign companies may see a commercial case for sponsoring arenas.”

With naming rights now available to all, the first to go has been the King Abdullah Sports City stadium, the largest in Jeddah and second biggest in Saudi Arabia with a capacity of more than 62,000.

It will be renamed Alinma Stadium after the Saudi Sports Ministry reached an agreement with Alinma, a bank backed by the Public Investment Fund. The stadium also plays host to top tier tennis, mixed martial arts and boxing.

Alamy via Reuters

Unlike sporting superpowers such as FC Barcelona, which secured a $292 million three-year deal in 2022 for the naming rights to its stadium – now known as the Spotify Camp Nou – Saudi arena sponsorship deals are likely to be small by comparison, at around $3 million per season, said Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at Skema Business School in France and an AGBI columnist.

“For most sports venues such deals are simply a nice added extra – they are never going to be enough alone to sustain a club or, indeed, the venue itself,” Chadwick said. “Top clubs may be able to generate a little more.”

Al Nassr’s Al-Awwal Park, with a capacity of  25,000 and home to star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, could fetch upwards of $5 million per season, he added.

In the UK last year there were 68 active naming rights partnerships with sports venues worth $200 million a year, according to sports market intelligence company Sportcal.

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Overseas, the new Saudi Arabian carrier Riyadh Air – which is due to start operations this year – agreed a deal with Spanish football club Atlético Madrid to rename the team’s stadium after the airline.

Opened in 2017, Estadio Metropolitan is now called the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

In December, Saudi Arabia was awarded the rights to host the Fifa World Cup in 2034.

As part of its bid, the kingdom has proposed 15 stadiums across five host cities: the capital Riyadh; Jeddah, the country’s second-largest city; giga-project city Neom; Abha and Al Khobar, in the country’s eastern province. Of these, eight will be built from scratch.