West Ham United’s London Stadium is set to be renamed, following an agreement with a huge European financial company.
The Hammers have been playing at the ground since 2016, when they moved Stratford in East London, after leaving Upton Park. The stadium has been known as the London Stadium during that entire time.
But that’s about to change…
West Ham United’s London Stadium to be sponsored by Allianz:
According to SportBusiness, West Ham United have agreed a move with German company Allianz to sponsor the London Stadium. A multinational financial services business with headquarters in Munich, Allianz are a name well known to football fans – and football stadiums in general.
The insurance and asset management moguls now have a collection of stadiums in their name around the world, with this being the fourth major European venue to take its name. Most famously, Bayern Munich’s home ground is the Allianz Arena, while Juventus play at the Allianz Stadium.
In 2012, deals were reached to rename the Sydney Football Stadium to Allianz Stadium and to name Nice’s new stadium, Allianz Riviera.
It is unknown at current what West Ham will officially call the London Stadium – though it could be called the Allianz Stadium London or something similar. West Ham now join other London clubs such as Brentford and Arsenal in having a stadium named after a sponsor (Gtech and Emirates, respectively), though for UEFA competition, the ground will likely still be referred to as London Stadium – or just West Ham United Stadium – due to European football regulation.
The stadium was previously known as the Olympic stadium, due to hosting the 2012 Olympic Games in London.