Arsenal's new home ground will be called Emirates Stadium in a record sponsorship deal worth more than 100 million pounds (US$178 million; ¤145 million). Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, was awarded naming rights Tuesday to the new 60,000-seat, 357-million-pound (US$636 million; ¤518 million) venue in north London. The stadium, under construction in Ashburton Grove near the club's current Highbury home, is scheduled to open in August 2006. The 15-year deal, which runs through the 2020-21 season, represents the richest club sponsorship contract in English soccer history, Arsenal said. Emirates will also become the club's title sponsor, with team shirts bearing the "Fly Emirates" logo, in an eight-year deal starting with the 2006-7 season. "The combined value of both elements of the sponsorship is by far the biggest deal ever undertaken in English football," the club said in a statement. Emirates is the current shirt sponsor of Arsenal's London rival Chelsea, but that deal expires at the end of the current season. The Arsenal contract was signed at Highbury by club chairman Peter Hill-Wood and Maurice Flanagan, Emirates vice president and group president. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sponsor such a major new stadium and club, and represents a win-win partnership for both Emirates and Arsenal," Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman of Emirates, said.
