Man Utd eye naming rights for new stadium as first summer deal collapses

Manchester United will explore a naming rights deal for their planned £2bn stadium as part of a “sanity, not vanity” approach to the project, the club’s New Stadium Development chief executive Collette Roche confirmed at the unveiling of a draft masterplan for the wider Old Trafford area. The 100,000-capacity stadium, to be built 350 yards from their current home on land acquired last month, sits at the heart of a 370-acre development expected to create 48,000 jobs and 15,000 new homes. But despite the scale of the ambition, the club is saddled with more than £1.3bn in debt from the Glazer takeover, revolving credit and outstanding transfer payments, making revenue generation critical. “We’ve been really clear from the onset, this needs to be a sanity project, not a vanity project,” Roche said. “I don’t know what the stadium will be called but we’ve been really vocal that we are going to potentially look at naming rights to the stadium. It’s an important revenue stream and something we’ve discussed with our fan advisory board. Everybody realises affordable, accessible ticket prices are really important. In order to do that, we need to generate revenue streams in other places.” Roche stressed the plans are not final, with designers Foster and Partners and fan consultations continuing, and hopes to share designs by late 2026 or early 2027. Yet United’s financial vulnerability was underscored by reports that their first summer transfer deal has collapsed, with the club having been close to landing a Brazilian World Cup star. The setback compounds concerns among supporters about how the club will service its debt, particularly after a refinancing move last month added another $125m (£93.4m) to the amount owed, with annual repayments estimated to rise to £50m. “Everyone said building a new stadium is going to be really expensive,” Roche noted, as United balance the need to invest in the squad, fund infrastructure and keep tickets affordable.