The deal
Hill Dickinson, the Liverpool-based commercial law firm, has been announced as the inaugural naming rights partner for Everton’s new soccer stadium, to be named Hill Dickinson Stadium.
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The club, which plays in the top-tier English Premier League, has said the “long-term” agreement is financially one of the largest stadium naming rights deals in Europe. The tie-up is reportedly worth £6 million ($8 million) per year plus add-ons.
The valuation is a huge outlay for the expanding law firm, which posted a profit of £57 million for 2023-24. Founded in Liverpool in 1810, it has 11 offices across the UK, Europe, and Asia.
The Everton men’s team is set to move into the new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock ahead of the 2025-26 season, having played their last league match at Goodison Park last weekend (May 18) against relegated side Southampton.
The new stadium will officially open in August, with a total capacity of 52,888. Test events have been held at the ground, including a U18 match between Everton and Wigan.
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By GlobalDataThe club’s women’s team, meanwhile, will move into Goodison Park as their permanent home from the start of the next campaign.
Why it matters
The new venue has cost in the region of £800 million to build, and the lucrative naming rights deal will give the club a much-needed financial boost as it attempts to remain competitive on the pitch while also paying off the stadium.
Having also received points deductions in two of the past three seasons for falling foul of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations, the club will be keen to generate extra income.
Everton joins five other Premier League teams (out of 20) that have naming rights partnerships for the 2025-26 season, including Manchester City (Etihad), Arsenal (Emirates), Brighton (American Express), Brentford (Grey Technology), and Bournemouth (Vitality).
Tottenham Hotspur has also been searching for a naming rights partner since the opening of its state-of-the-art stadium in 2019, but has struggled to attract a brand that will match the club’s valuation for the rights, with Amazon and Google reportedly having shown interest.
Manchester United, which announced plans to build a new ground by 2030 earlier this year, will also likely be in the market for a naming rights partner to help ease the financial burden of the new project.
Internationally, some of soccer’s most iconic grounds have changed their names, including Barcelona’s Spotify Camp Nou (Spain) and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park (Germany), as well as Germany’s Bayern Munich and Italy’s Juventus, whose home venues are named Allianz Arena and Allianz Stadium, respectively.
Stadium naming rights are already a staple in the US, being one of the most lucrative commercial assets available for sports teams to sell, but while most European clubs have shied away due to a fear of a fan backlash, it is fast becoming a necessity as the costs of running a top-tier team start to mount.
Conrad Wiacek, head of analysis at GlobalData Sport, commented: “While Europe is not exactly synonymous with naming rights for venues, the trend has accelerated with the development of modern stadia across the continent.
“While putting a corporate name on a venue is problematic when the venue is steeped in history, as Mike Ashley found out when he was Newcastle's owner, the building of a new venue allows clubs to monetize the asset in a way that they were previously unable to.
“In all likelihood, there would have been uproar had Everton tried to sell naming rights to Goodison Park, but as fans have no emotional attachment to a new ground, this makes the sale of naming rights a far easier proposition to sell to fans.
“In the US, where stadium naming rights are ubiquitous, the fact that venues rarely last more than 20-30 years before they are knocked down and replaced by something far newer and shinier means fans are less attached to a venue and care far less which brand is associated with it.
“In Europe, where stadiums are typically far older, the trend is far less common, but given that many venues are not fit for purpose in the modern age means many are now in line for an upgrade.
“London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham have led the way, with one being far more successful in selling naming rights for their venue than the other. Most new stadiums built in Europe and specifically in the UK now come with a new naming rights partner, making Tottenham’s inability to sell their naming rights even more baffling.
“With the likes of Manchester United looking at building a new stadium, the fact that Everton have been able to do a deal so swiftly suggests that, provided the price is right, there is plenty of interest in corporate entities attaching themselves to a venue.”
The details
Angus Kinnear, Everton's newly appointed chief executive, said: "This partnership goes beyond branding – it’s a shared commitment to progress, excellence and the regeneration of our city. Hill Dickinson Stadium will stand as a symbol of Everton’s ambitions, our values, and the global future we are building together."
Aside from the naming rights element of the commercial deal, Hill Dickinson will also work with Everton in the Community, the club's charity-focused arm.
An exclusive option on the new stadium's naming rights had originally been bought by USM, the holding company of Alisher Usmanov, in 2020, only for Everton to then cut all ties with Usmanov in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. That tie-up reportedly valued the naming rights at £30 million.
Everton has been owned by US investment consortium The Friedkin Group since December, when the firm acquired a 94% stake in the club from previous owner Farhad Moshiri.
In terms of other major club partners, Castore has a kit supply contract in place, while Stake.com, the casino and sports betting platform, is the club's front-of-shirt sponsor.
