Everton Football Club’s announcement that its new ground will be called the Hill Dickinson Stadium has been greeted with responses ranging from cautious approval to cruel mockery.
The 52,888-capacity replacement for Goodison Park is being constructed by the Liverpool docks. Set to open in August, rival supporters have relished the opportunity to poke fun at the most lawful stadium in football.
“At least Goodison had the aura. Damn that sounds like a library”, said a Liverpool fan on social media.
“The world’s most stupid stadium names. Hunky Dory Park, Ireland. Guaranteed Rate Stadium, Chicago. Wankdorf Stadium, Switzerland. And announced today… Hill Dickinson Stadium, Merseyside. #PrayForEverton”, said another.
“We never make it easy for ourselves”, mused a Toffee.
But others pointed out that before long, the £750m Hill Dickinson Stadium will become a familiar fixture in commentary boxes, guaranteeing that Hill Dickinson will become a household name (even more than it already is).
“I think in time all Evertonians will embrace the name … like everything else in life that means change, we have a grumble and then we just get on with it”, said a fan.
“I love the name. It’s a proper old fashioned English name. None of that Etihad, Emirates”, wrote another supporter.
The deal means Hill Dickinson’s brand awareness is now greater than it has ever been by several orders of magnitude, and entirely new demographics are becoming aware of the firm and its Liverpool roots.
“My mate told me the new name in a text and I thought it was a joke and read down to find the ‘punchline’ but then realised it wasnt a joke”, said a fan.
However, they continued, “Thinking about it over the weekend, I’m pleased it’s an original local firm, with lots of history, rather than one of the big global conglomerates. Well in Everton. Keeping it in the community”.
Hill Dickinson, which was founded in Liverpool in 1810, said the deal “brings together two Liverpool institutions, united by a global outlook, a deep commitment to the city of Liverpool, and a shared history that dates back to the very founding of Everton in 1878”.
But ROF’s favourite take was found on X, where a commenter said the deal’s main impact would be an increase in instructions from passing sailors. “The key thing I think is that Hill Dickinson specialise in maritime law. The Mersey is a big shipping channel and only getting busier. Having that branding on the banks of the river is huge”, they said.
Litigious skippers may help the firm recoup some of the cost of naming the stadium, but Hill Dicks was coy about exactly how much it is paying Everton.
The rumour mill has decided £10m a year sounds about right after the firm said its partnership “represents one of the largest stadium naming rights deals in Europe”. (Another source said it was closer to £6m.)
To put that into context, the most expensive deal in Europe is pharmaceutical company Bayer’s €30 million a year for the Bayer Leverkusen Stadium in Germany. In the UK, Emirates is understood to pay Arsenal around £5.8m a year for naming rights as part of a larger sponsorship package.
The deal puts Hill Dickinson at the top of the law sponsorship league, nutmegging Irwin Mitchell’s advertising at Twickenham, and, more importantly, dribbling past the vandal who wrote on its office without obtaining any kind of naming rights.
https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/evertons-new-stadium-puts-hill-dickinson-map
