Newcastle United have renamed their St. James' Park ground the Sports Direct Arena, in a move which many will see as controversial, yet others may possibly understand and even embrace.
While sponsored stadiums are hardly rare these days, they have usually been restricted, at the top level at least, to newbuild stadiums such as Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, and renaming has so far only been done by Manchester City, whose Etihad Stadium, formerly the City of Manchester Stadium has only been home since 2003. Newcastle have played at their home for 119 years, so they are removing as much a part of their history as the black and white stripes. But they will be earning hundreds of millions of pounds to do it, and in this billionaire era of football we live in, any means of gaining a financial advantage has to be looked at. If it means being controversial, then so be it in my opinion. For Newcastle, that money could be the difference between merely existing in the Premier League and having the clout to really challenge at the top end of the table again.
If fans do not want to use the new name, they don't have to. How many fans of Bradford City (Coral Windows Stadium), Leyton Orient (Matchroom Stadium) or Stevenage (Lamex Stadium) use their sponsored names? At a guess, I would imagine they would mostly still refer to their homes as Valley Parade, Brisbane Road and Broadhall Way. Yet are they all grateful for the extra money in the coffers those names bring? What do you reckon?
I would not mind, within reason, what my team's ground was called. The money it generates, and stability that can bring is worth more than a name.
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