Hill Dickinson bets big with naming rights deal for Everton's new stadium

Hill Dickinson has pulled off one of the boldest marketing moves ever seen from a UK law firm - putting its name on Everton Football Club’s new £800 million stadium, set to open later this year.

The new 52,000-seat venue at Bramley-Moore Dock will officially be called the "Hill Dickinson Stadium" after the Liverpool-headquartered firm agreed a long-term naming rights deal with the Premier League club.

Everton says it’s one of the biggest naming rights deals in Europe, which would value it at around £10 million a year, according to Guardian football correspondent Andy Hunter - although one trusted Everton insider suggested a figure closer to £6 million plus add-ons is more accurate. Either way, it’s a chunky outlay for a firm that posted £145 million in revenue last year.

Hill Dickinson CEO Craig Scott positioned the deal as part of the firm’s broader strategic shift and the start of a new rebranding initiative aimed at raising its profile both domestically and internationally.

"Many months ago, Hill Dickinson was presented with a once-in-a-generation opportunity", Scott said on LinkedIn. "We believe deeply in what this project stands for: a transformational vision for Liverpool and its future."

"It couldn’t come at a more opportune time, with the deal providing the perfect platform to launch our new brand to a global audience."

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The move is almost unheard of in the UK legal industry. While law firms are regular sponsors of awards, conferences and the occasional rugby shirt, stadium naming rights are typically the preserve of global airlines and insurers.

Before sanctions on Russian businesses kicked in, Everton’s new home had been expected to carry the branding of oligarch Alisher Usmanov's USM Holdings (a legacy of the club's ties to the oligarch via its former majority shareholder).

Now, out of almost nowhere, Hill Dickinson has stepped in. It's a big signal from a mid-tier law firm that it wants to be seen differently, and it's clearly banking on the global pull of football to help make that happen.

Whether it proves a stroke of marketing genius or an expensive gamble remains to be seen, of course…