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Manchester United shirt sponsors Snapdragon are interested in acquiring the naming rights for Old Trafford and would consider tweaking the name of the stadium if they did so.
Either significant improvements to the current stadium or a new arena entirely are options being considered by the owners of Manchester United, with the ageing, crumbling Old Trafford increasingly an issue for the club.
A new stadium could cost around £2bn and even the requisite improvements to the current ground would be extremely expensive, so funds need to be raised.
Selling the naming rights to Old Trafford is one route that the club could go down to raise some money and they are already working with one company that would be interested.
Snapdragon have become shirt sponsors for the Red Devils this summer, signing a three-year deal worth £180 million and they are open to further involvement.
There is already a Snapdragon Stadium in the States, on the campus of San Diego State University, but involvement with Old Trafford would be a big step up.
On the prospect of changing Old Trafford’s name, Don McGuire, chief marketing officer of Qualcomm, which owns Snapdragon, said, via the New York Times: ‘Old Trafford is Old Trafford, it should always be Old Trafford.
‘But if there is a brand attached to that in some way shape or form, powered by someone, an “at” or whatever — this is Snapdragon Stadium at Bashor Field [in San Diego] — we are working very closely with the team on the reimagining of Old Trafford from a technology and innovation standpoint, and Carrington).
‘So if that leads to something bigger, where it would make sense for us to go even bigger — this (shirt sponsorship) is pretty big by the way, not inexpensive — but if it makes sense, we are always looking out for opportunities.’
McGuire expanded on how Snapdragon – a company which makes chips and processors for electronic devices – are working on improving both Manchester United training ground, but chiefly fan interaction at the stadium.
‘Fan experiences, connectivity, stadium operations like retail, point of sale, ticket in and out,’ he said.
‘Then there is how fans can be engaged while in the stadium, whether through augmented reality or through their smartphones or devices. And then making United a more state-of-the-art club.’
Manchester United played at Snapdragon Stadium this summer, beating Real Betis 3-2 earlier this month in San Diego.
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