Everton told to ‘agree £150m deal ASAP’ after advanced talks
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has urged his old side to agree and sanction a naming rights deal for the new stadium “as soon as possible”.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 67-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted the pre-opening period will provide any partner a “real bang for their buck”.
Everton have already confirmed they have fielded naming rights offers for their new stadium, which will open to fans for test events this month and open fully in time for the 2025-26 campaign.
Wyness has previously told Football Insider (3 January) that any deal should be worth around £150million over 10 years.
The stadium development was initially projected to cost around £500million, but is now expected to set the club back more than £800million.
Everton previously struck a £10million-a-year naming rights deal with Alisher Usmanov-linked USM Services Limited – but the agreement was cancelled following the sanctions placed on the Russian oligarch in 2022.
Everton naming rights partner will be pushing for deal ‘ASAP’, says Wyness
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “The club has maintained they’ve had a number of offers.
“The sooner the deal is done, the sooner the money starts rolling in. But you’re talking about a long-term deal for the naming rights, so you’ve got to get the right fit – I understand that.
“But I’ve always stressed that pre-opening is where the publicity is. That’s when the naming partner can get a real bang for their buck.
“Wherever you look in the media or in Liverpool right now, the stadium is everywhere.
“The sponsor should be pushing to get in as soon as possible, it’ll maximise their benefit. Especially with the test events, it’ll get bigger and bigger in the media from now on.
“The money flowing in a little earlier can also help Everton.”
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