Everton Seals Huge Naming Rights Deal with Hill Dickinson
Everton FC made waves by announcing their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will be officially known as the Hill Dickinson Stadium, following a high-profile naming rights agreement with the international law firm. The deal, rumored to rake in £10 million per year, is one of the priciest of its kind on the continent—placing it in the same league as the major Twickenham and Allianz partnership in Rugby.
The stadium itself, still under construction at Liverpool’s historic docklands, is set to cost a whopping £750 million. When it opens for the 2025-26 football season, it’ll boast 62,000 seats, plenty of event space, and serve as Everton’s new flagship home, taking the baton from Goodison Park after more than a century.
Yet the club found itself in the middle of an identity row almost as soon as the announcement dropped. Loyal Toffees fans, who have always prided themselves on tradition and their club’s connection to the local area, weren’t shy about venting their anger online. Social media lit up with some calling the Hill Dickinson name the ‘worst ever’ and others vowing to keep using the Bramley-Moore Dock name in protest, refusing to let go of their beloved heritage.
The club’s new owners, the Friedkin Group, say the branding partnership makes financial sense, and pointed out that one of their main objectives was to bring in a stadium naming sponsor to help fund Everton’s ambitions. The revenue boost will be critical, especially given the record-building costs and the club’s desire to compete at the highest level—the Premier League, after all, is nothing if not a financial arms race.
More Than Just a Name: Community Ties and Wider Impact
For Hill Dickinson, the naming deal isn’t just about slapping their name across the stadium. The law firm pledged to run joint community programs with Everton, get involved in various commercial projects, and have their branding front and center at one of the UK’s most exciting new sports venues. Their involvement is set to go beyond football, as the stadium will also host big-ticket events—the UEFA Euro 2028 matches and the 2025 Rugby League Ashes among them.
The stadium does more than promise high-profile matches, though. It’s at the heart of a larger regeneration project, with plans for retail, housing, and leisure dotted around the waterfront. Yet, that same waterfront location has sparked controversy in the city. The project played a role in Liverpool losing its UNESCO World Heritage status back in 2021, as building at Bramley-Moore Dock changed the look and feel of the historic Maritime Mercantile City site, once a symbol of the city’s trading importance.
Despite the history and feelings involved, the club’s leadership is standing firm. For them, turning Bramley-Moore Dock into the Hill Dickinson Stadium is about pushing Everton into a new era—balancing heritage with the cold, hard facts of modern football finance. Whether fans will eventually get behind the new name remains to be seen, but for now, it’s clear this partnership is about a lot more than what’s written above the door.
May, 17 2025