Aston Villa's search for stadium naming rights and the spectre of PSR

New York Times

4 hours ago

It was in early 2024 that The Athletic was told of Aston Villa's desire to pursue stadium naming rights.
Chris Heck, the club's president of business operations at the time, led discussions among staff to find a lucrative, big-brand sponsorship to rename Villa Park.
Many clubs have raised significant revenue this way, including Arsenal with the Emirates Stadium, Manchester City's Etihad Stadium or, further away, Barcelona's Spotify Camp Nou. Heck and his team cast the net far and wide, discussing worldwide brands, but a suitable partner has not been found.
Advertisement
Until his official departure at the end of May 2025, Heck was tasked with rapidly growing commercial streams, removing existing sponsorship agreements with incumbent partners and seeking more lucrative contracts.
It has been far from plain sailing. Villa have cut ties with kit manufacturer Castore and moved to Adidas. In April 2024, they also ended their relationship with front-of-shirt sponsor BK8 two years early.
In both examples, Villa received financial uplifts, which assisted an improvement in commercial income, growing £24.2million ($32.9m), or 62 per cent, in just two years. The 2023-24 accounts showed record revenues for the second year running, with income hitting £275.7m; it will be three in a row in 2024-25 following their Champions League run.
Stadium naming rights would, undoubtedly, have the greatest commercial impact, far exceeding any additional money brought in through the hike in ticket prices at the start of the 2024-25 campaign or the upcoming season's rise of five per cent. A comparative example would be Everton, after Liverpool-based legal firm Hill Dickinson became the naming-rights partner for their new stadium. Everton said it was 'one of the largest stadium naming rights deals in Europe', with multiple reports that it could be up to £10m a year.
Heck attributed last season's high ticket prices in the Champions League — the cheapest seat cost £70 — to the need to comply with profit and sustainability rules (PSR) but frankly, securing a big-name partner would bring in far more revenue than another increase.
'Achieving our sporting ambitions while complying with financial stability regulations requires difficult decisions,' said Heck in a statement last September and in response to supporter backlash over Champions League prices.
'Financial fair play rules prohibit owners from covering shortfalls to finance this ambition, so we need to generate as much revenue as possible through sponsorships, merchandise and ticket sales to ensure that we can keep the club where it rightfully belongs — competing and winning at the top of English and European football.'
Advertisement
Director of football operations Damian Vidagany acknowledged the cost of following Villa last season. 'I would like to show how grateful we are to the supporters,' he wrote in a letter to fans at the end of last season. 'From everyone at the club, the manager, the players, and the staff — for the European night atmospheres we had at Villa Park. We know how hard it was for many people to get tickets and pay for them.'
For all the growth commercially, it was influenced by on-field success, with the Champions League providing a cash injection in prize money and television rights.
But the question lingers. Would supporters sacrifice tradition and be prepared to change Villa Park's name in exchange for PSR to be less of a yearly issue?
'Commercial income plays a vital role in enabling the club to remain competitive, in the Premier League and in Europe,' says Mo Razzaq, chair of the Aston Villa Supporters' Trust. 'If naming rights can contribute meaningfully to that, helping us invest in the squad and infrastructure while staying within financial regulations, then it's a conversation worth having.
'That said, Villa Park is more than just a stadium — it's a symbol of our history and identity. For generations of fans, it will always be Villa Park, regardless of any commercial partnership.'
'One of Villa's unique selling points is its historical gravitas — and renaming Villa Park would risk diluting that legacy,' adds David Michael, who sits on the fan advisory board and is the editor and founder of My Old Man Said, a fan-run website.
'If sacrificing identity doesn't deliver clear success, what was it all for? To help cover agent fees (£25.1million last season), UEFA fines, and inflated wages? If all it buys is a tidier balance sheet, the trade-off feels hollow.'
Villa replicated Chelsea in selling their women's team to the company that owns them, V Sports, led by Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, while trading a small stake to an American investor. This helped solve Villa's PSR issues as a one-off but again provokes the discussion of raising revenue and maintaining aspects of club tradition.
Advertisement
Villa Park has been the club's home since 1897. It was opened as the Aston Lower Grounds, but fans began to refer to it as 'Villa Park' at the beginning of the 20th century. Remarkably, the club has never announced an official name change, with local press initially using other names, such as the 'Aston Grounds' or 'Villa Grounds'.
This is, in name and history, a stadium that belongs to its supporters. Built at the end of a hugely successful era, when Villa were the dominant team of the Victorian age, they had a home befitting of their stature.
'If the club does pursue naming rights, it's essential that any chosen partner reflects the heritage of Aston Villa,' continues Razzaq. 'The association should feel authentic and respectful of what the club stands for.'
These days, supporters have needed to grow used to the idea that football, compared to the Victorian era when it was there as a form of weekend escapism for the working class, is becoming a more expensive sport to watch. Many fans felt Heck's main mode of increasing revenue was to raise ticket prices and introduce more corporate and hospitality areas around the ground, which ran into problems.
Manager Unai Emery has driven Villa's on-pitch success, making him the club's key revenue driver. Villa's fourth-place finish in the 2023-24 season generated £162.4m in Premier League prize money and reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2024-25 amassed more than £70m. This ensured Villa topped £300m in income for the first time.
Qualifying for Europe's elite competition allowed Villa to be more ambitious during commercial negotiations. Sources who shared existing knowledge of recent deals, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, told The Athletic that last season's agreements included 'kickers'. This means the club receives additional revenue every time they qualify for the Champions League, unlocking extra sponsorship money.
Rightly or wrongly, Villa felt they could charge as much as £92 per ticket for a home game against Brighton & Hove Albion and £97 for a non-season-ticket holder ticket for a Champions League fixture because of the attractiveness of Emery's team.
Villa aspire to compete with Europe's biggest clubs but are yet to tap into the commercial markets they benefit from. They remain without a sponsor for their training kit and training ground, Bodymoor Heath.
Invariably, seeking wider partners will be a focus for Heck's replacement, Francesco Calvo, who worked at Juventus and Roma. Calvo is due to start work at Villa this month and is well-liked among football staff. The Italian executive has a strong track record for working with fans and wants to build a stronger relationship between the football and business departments.
Adrian Filby, the commercial director who was formerly at Celtic, will be involved in future stadium discussions.
'Villa Park will always be my church,' says Dave Wickes, chair of the Cornwall Lions. 'I'm not for changing the names of traditional football stadiums but with PSR, Villa need the finance from things like renaming the stadium to help us get to the levels of competing with the elite to win trophies. That's how fans judge the club.'
Advertisement
Supporters widely accept that Villa Park, though retaining its history, must be redeveloped. There were 30,000 people on the season ticket waiting list in 2023 and the stadium's capacity of 42,000 is no longer suitable to match demand. There is also natural decay in parts of the ground, such as the turnstiles and concourses. There is an understanding that certain areas of Villa Park are too small and sometimes difficult to steward.
The club announced they would restart plans to build a 50,000-seater stadium in time for Euro 2028, a tournament where Villa Park will host matches. Villa and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) face logistical and financial issues but should the proposal be put into action, gate receipts will considerably boost revenue.
Villa are far removed from the traditional 'Big Six' for matchday revenue and, more gallingly, trail West Ham United — which boasts a ground that holds 20,000 more spectators — and Newcastle United, who have 10,000 more seats, by £16.6m and £22.1m respectively.
A redeveloped and expanded Villa Park may be celebrated with new naming rights. But preserving Villa's traditions will surely be of equal, if not more, importance.
'Even a U.S.-style approach — naming the pitch rather than the stadium, as in 'Sponsor Name pitch at Villa Park' — could preserve heritage while bringing in funds,' says Michael. 'But as fans increasingly see their clubs carved up for commercial gain, the real risk is not financial — it's the slow erosion of the club's soul.'