Manchester United’s new shirt sponsors Snapdragon would be interested in buying the naming rights to Old Trafford if the club build a new stadium.
United will announce by the end of the year if they have the financing for a £2billion ‘Wembley of the North’ which could be ready by 2030.
Snapdragon and its parent company Qualcomm have just begun a £175million three-year shirt sponsorship, two years after striking a deal to become one of the club’s global partners.
United are already using the San Diego-based company’s technological expertise to improve the fan experience at Old Trafford and in the £50m revamp of their Carrington training complex.
Snapdragon chief marketing officer Don McGuire says it would be interested in going a step further by bidding for the naming rights, although he admits United’s home must still be known as Old Trafford.
Manchester United’s shirt sponsors Snapdragon are keen on the naming rights to Old Trafford
The company have just begun a £175million three-year shirt sponsorship with the Red Devils
‘If there is a brand attached to that in some way, shape or form, “powered by someone” or whatever,’ said McGuire. ‘Old Trafford is Old Trafford, and it should always be Old Trafford.
‘We are working very closely with the team on the reimagination of Old Trafford from a technology and innovation standpoint. Connectivity, stadium operations, how fans can engage while in the stadium whether through augmented reality or through their smartphones or devices, and then making them a more state-of-the-art club.
‘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 – we are always looking out for opportunities.’
United have played at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego in each of the last two years, and it’s understood that the team could return to California when Snapdragon present the 2025 tour.
But McGuire believes a visit to China or India would be even more beneficial to the club and his company. United haven’t toured China since 2019 and were forced to cancel a pre-season trip to India in 2020 due to the pandemic.
‘We’d love for them to come back here every year, but we’d like them to take it around the world and share the love,’ added Maguire.
‘So we’re looking at markets that are big Snapdragon markets as well, to bring the team. We’d love for them to play in China and India.
‘One of our biggest markets is China, another big market is India. We sell our products in volume through partners, all over the world.
‘Manchester United’s biggest fanbase is in China, 253million fans. We know they have played in China before and they’d love to go back, and we’d love that too.’
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen to secure financing for a £2billion ‘Wembley of the North’
Old Trafford could be demolished to make way for a state-of-the-art new stadium
Snapdragon’s lucrative sponsorship deal with United is already paying off handsomely
McGuire revealed that Snapdragon’s shirt sponsorship with United is already paying off handsomely.
‘Attaching myself to Manchester United for that global reach and scale makes sense for a company like ours, because it’s gotta kick a** in Europe, it’s gotta kick a** in China, it’s gotta kick a** in India, and Brazil and the US,’ he said.
‘The efficiency in what we’ve done with Manchester United, put up against traditional advertising, is no contest. The efficiency in front of shirt in the ROI (return on investment) I’ve already seen has passed a billion impressions in three weeks.
‘It’s a bigger launch than the next big clubs that have launched their front of shirts in recent weeks combined. So that’s the scale of Manchester United.’
