Blues’ stadium to be re-named St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park
NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Birmingham City is pleased to announce it has entered into a multi-million pound, multi-year naming rights agreement with Shelby Companies Limited, which is majority owned by Knighthead Annuity & Life Assurance Company and certain other minority investors, including seven-time Super Bowl champion and entrepreneur, Tom Brady (collectively, “Knighthead”). It is the largest commercial agreement in the Club’s history.
Under the terms of the deal, the Club’s stadium will be re-named St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. The Club’s Wast Hills training ground will be renamed The Knighthead Training and Academy Grounds. And a new fan ‘entertainment zone’ @ Knighthead Park, will be built, situated on Club-owned land close to the Tilton and Main Stand at the Stadium. The re-named stadium, training ground, and new fan zone will be launched before the end of the 2023/24 Sky Bet Championship Season.
The value of the agreement is based on an annual sponsorship fee, a Men’s First Team performance-related bonus and a Club wide social media performance-related bonus. For the remainder of the 2023/24 season, the value to the Club with incentives could reach £6,241,666.67*. In 2024/25, the first full year of the partnership, the value to Birmingham City, with incentives, could reach £9,450,000*.
Knighthead will also receive significant physical and digital branding rights across the stadium, training grounds and all Club-owned channels. Knighthead has also committed to donate £100,000/annum, beginning at the start of the 2024/25 season, to the Birmingham City Football Club Foundation.
Knighthead Park is the first step in the Club’s plan to build a ‘Sports Quarter’ in the heart of Birmingham. The ambition for the ‘Sports Quarter’ is to create a globally recognisable sporting and entertainment location. A beacon of excellence, providing the world’s greatest athletes and performers a platform to showcase their talents. Recreational, mixed-use and other space will be developed for the enjoyment and benefit of the local community.
Knighthead Park will play a central role in the company’s global marketing strategy as it looks to build its brand presence and expand its business interests in the UK, the US and across other global markets.
In July 2023, Knighthead acquired full ownership and control of St. Andrew’s and 45.96% ownership of Birmingham City Ltd. The investment in the Club was the first part of Knighthead’s plan to play a significant role in the ongoing transformation of Birmingham’s infrastructure and skyline.
Knighthead Park will provide consistent brand exposure to a global audience at a key time in Knighthead’s growth plans, as well as inject revenue into the Club.
Chairman of Knighthead and the Club, Tom Wagner, said: “St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park is step one in our plan to create a world-renowned ‘Sports Quarter’ in Birmingham. We invested in Blues because of the opportunity to not only transform a football club but to also be a catalyst for change in the city itself. Our ambition is bold. It is for the Club to become a beacon of excellence for Birmingham. We are at an early stage in the journey, but we have already started to capture the imagination of a global audience. It is only going to grow. That is why the timing of the multi-year naming rights partnership is perfect and why it is so important to Knighthead.”
He added: “We continue to invest heavily in the Stadium and training grounds to make them fit for purpose. The process will continue as we pursue the development of the broader Knighthead Park. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to enter into a partnership that will grow the brands of both Knighthead and BCFC, while remaining true to our goal of achieving excellence across both enterprises.”
Birmingham City Chief Executive Officer, Garry Cook, said: “Birmingham is now a global story and the Club is at its epicentre. A worldwide audience has tuned in to what is happening at Blues, they want to find out more, and we have only just scratched the surface of what is possible. St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park and the ambitious plan for a ‘Sports Quarter’ will become a proxy brand for Knighthead. It will be world class and a clear statement of intent.”
He added: “Knighthead has invested in Birmingham and is bringing a level of ambition that is going to improve the fortunes of both the Club and the city itself. New thinking and approaches are required for football clubs to grow and compete. Our partnership is an example of this. We look at the football world differently and we know that creating broader awareness and engagement across social and other media platforms will increase our commercial growth opportunities. For Blues, this means the prospect of significant investment, both on and off the pitch. This is the future and yet another massive vote of confidence from Knighthead in Birmingham and in the transformation that we are driving at the Club.”
| For the year ending 30 June | |||
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| (GBP) | (GBP) | (GBP) | |
| Sponsorship Fee | 2,291,666.67 | 5,500,000.00 | 5,775,000 |
| Club Performance-related Bonus | 950,000 | 950,000 | 950,000 |
| Social Media Performance-related Bonus | 3,000,000.00 | 3,000,000.00 | 3,000,000.00 |
| Total: | 6,241,666.67 | 9,450,000 | 9,725,000 |
| *Sponsorship Fee |
About Knighthead Annuity & Life Assurance Company
Knighthead Annuity & Life Assurance Company (“Knighthead Annuity”) is an insurance and reinsurance company established in 2014 to serve global clients seeking financial products that provide both principal protection and guaranteed rates, as well as reinsure similar liabilities for U.S. insurance companies. Since its initial funding in December 2014, the Company has established itself as a well-managed, highly rated, and credible issuer of direct annuity contracts to non-U.S. persons who have assets on deposit at U.S. banks/brokers. From an underwriting perspective, Knighthead Annuity has developed annuity products (and reinsured annuity products) that are long-dated, predictable, and subject to minimal interest rate or client behavioral risks. The company also reinsures fixed
For media inquiries:
TeamKnighthead@jonesworks.com
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SOURCE Knighthead Capital Management, LLC
