Football clubs branding their football stadiums as a separate entity isn’t particularly uncommon in the modern day. In fact, whether it be selling naming rights or simply just advertising it as an events venue away from football, it has become a very tidy revenue source for many clubs across Europe.
Yesterday, with Newcastle United having now unveiled their new, modernised badge, the old crest that accompanied the main St James’ Park signage on Barrack Road has now been replaced. But instead of replacing it with the new badge, the Magpies chose to create an entirely new, never seen before logo which is now reported to be tthe branding for everything St James’ Park.
So, with speculation still swirling around exactly why the club has felt the need to do this, could it actually be leading to a very interesting new strategy to further grow the commercial side of the club?
Newcastle’s new focus
It is no secret that Newcastle United are placing a rather hefty onus on increasing their commercial revenue over this next period of the project, with it seen as one of the biggest ways that the club can attempt to bridge the gap to the traditional ‘big six’.
There have already been some big deals done this summer, such as the Magpies becoming one of only a few Premier League clubs to fully monetise their training ground and gear through the KNOX partnership and the SumUp sponsorship deal.
But this new stadium logo is possibly the most interesting of the recent changes and upgrades because it could signal the Magpies shifting toward a new revenue stream which has served the likes of Tottenham Hotspur exceptionally well over the last few years - using the stadium for everything you can think of that isn’t football.
St James’ Park as an entertainment venue?
Actually, we might have already seen this being put into practice before the new branding was even shown, with Fontaines DC coming to St James’ on their stadium tour next summer.
From stadium experiences, to hospitality events to concerts, there is already a concerted effort to make St James’ Park a destination in its own right rather than simply a footballing venue. That could be invaluable for the Magpies going forward, if that is the route that this new logo may suggest.
Take the aforementioned Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for example. It has become home to some of the biggest sporting events outside of football, such as boxing events and NFL, whilst also hosting some of the world’s biggest music artists like Beyoncé. This has led to the extra-curricular activities hosted in the arena heavily supplementing Spurs’ income and becoming an increasingly important part of their revenue stream.
Obviously, Spurs’ ground is built to host these sort of events and has all the attributes needed to make it solely an entertainment venue if Spurs didn’t play football there. St James’ Park won’t ever become that in its current form.
But the new, updated and separate branding could well be with a view to positioning the stadium as its own brand, subsequently giving Newcastle United another fruitful avenue to generate revenue from its most valuable physical asset.
Add us as a preferred source on Google