“Which UK landmark will be first to sell its naming rights in 2022?” – Will we see the end of Wembley Stadium? [Study]

It seems that attaching Nessie the Loch Ness Monster’s name to anything is big business. £40 million to be precise, according to recent research.

Even so, Loch Ness is currently at 20s in the UK landmark naming rights betting, with Wembley Stadium a whole pitch away at 7/2.

Naming rights are big business in the USA and US based consultancy Duff & Phelps believes British sports teams are missing out on millions by not securing the rights to naming their stadium.

Only 30% of UK teams have such a deal in place whereas the figure in the US is over 80% and rising.

The saga around the naming rights for Wembley is a long running one.

As far back as 2013, the FA denied that the naming rights were for sale, which would have rebranded the iconic stadium as ‘Wembley Stadium in association with EE’.

Instead, the Wembley Arena was rebranded as the SSE Arena in a £15 million naming rights and sponsorship deal in 2014.

Fast forward to 2018, and American billionaire Shahid Khan’s bid to buy Wembley hinged on government demands that there be a limit to naming rights were the deal to go through in a bid to protect the Wembley brand as the ‘home of British football’.

That sale fell through but could a new buyer with even deeper pockets make the FA an offer they can’t refuse and snap up the naming rights along with the stadium itself?

Of course, Wembley stadium has been rebranded in the past. It was known as the Empire Stadium when it was built in the 1920s and then demolished along with its world famous twin towers in 2003.

But with PaddyPower’s odds shortening on Wembley being renamed in 2019 and naming rights for West Ham’s London Stadium currently on the market, could this be the year that Wembley gets a new name?