Karren Brady works on new London Stadium deal as £10m-a-year West Ham United update emerges
West Ham United vice-chairman Karen Brady is working on a deal with main club sponsors Betway onto the London Stadium roof as part of a naming rights deal, according to the Mail on Sunday.
The Premier League made new rule changes [The Guardian, 13 April] which will take effect from 2026, which reads that betting companies will no longer be allowed on the front of club shirts as part of a plan to crack down on betting.
It has been said that Brady has been trying to broker a deal to get naming rights for the London Stadium since they moved there in 2016.
And The Times reported on 28 March that West Ham United are in line to bank millions from a naming rights deal for the London Stadium that the LLDC chief executive Lyn Garner is “very confident” will be signed this year.
According to the Mail on Sunday newspaper [30 April, page 98], it is understood that Betway are happy with their current £10m-a-year arrangement as being the club’s principal sponsor until 2025.
Cash injection
It seems as though Brady is trying to work out new ways in giving West Ham United a much-needed cash injection for future sustainability and finally providing naming rights for the London Stadium which has proven so difficult could happen soon if reports are true.
In theory, it would boost the club’s net worth to own the site in East London, which seems like the most likely reason Daniel Kretinsky or anyone else would consider taking it off the LLDC’s hands.
Much has been made about West Ham United leaving Upton Park and becoming tenants of a stadium that hasn’t been purposed for football and the club have arguably just about made it work for the long haul, pulling on some excellent results on the European stage which will only heighten the club’s standing amongst the continent.
Brady trying to secure a naming rights deal for the Stadium could finally endear fans to the facility and allow it to finally become a new and permanent home for which the Hammers could create history in.
However, what kind of message is Brady sending out by having a betting company as the London Stadium’s sponsor when they’ve already been banned from club shirts? Controversial to say the least.