How much money Birmingham City got for adding the Knighthead name to St Andrew's | OneFootball

Birmingham City's naming rights deal is in place for at least three years - with the first year's value revealed

Birmingham City are flying in League One, with the Blues seemingly cruising to an instant return to the Championship.

Relegated to the third tier last year, Birmingham are 11 points clear of second-placed Wrexham – with two games in hand.

Boosted by the biggest spending spree in League One history, Birmingham’s promotion bid has had to be funded somehow – with their owners, Knighthead, bolstering funds with a deal to sponsor their St Andrew’s home.

Value of first year of Birmingham City's naming rights agreement revealed

Midway through the 2023/24 campaign, it was confirmed that Birmingham City’s St. Andrew’s home would take on a new name, with the club’s owners putting in place a sponsorship deal.

That saw Birmingham’s ground referred to as St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, whilst the Blues’ training ground would be known as The Knighthead Training and Academy Grounds.

Upon announcing the “multi-million pound, multi-year naming rights agreement” Birmingham City stated that it was “the largest commercial agreement in the club’s history.”

Announced in January 2024, prior to Birmingham’s relegation from the Championship at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, the benefits of the deal were reported in the club’s most recent accounts.

Knighthead were extremely transparent with the particulars of the deal, confirming the exact clauses that would produce bonuses.

Birmingham’s parent company confirmed that for the financial year ending June 30 2024, the club would receive just over £2.29million as a basic sponsorship fee, rising to £5.5million in the next financial year. That again would rise to £5.75million in 2026.

On top of that base fee, Birmingham would receive £50,000 per league position gained starting from their position in the Championship upon signing the agreement, leading to a possible £950,000 as a bonus.

Of course, Birmingham were relegated from the Championship, potentially nullifying this bonus, but a further reward was made far more achievable.

For each financial year of the agreement, the Blues would receive £100,000 for every 20 million verified impressions on social media, up to a maximum of £3million.

In the club’s financial accounts for 2024, it was confirmed that they received £4.2million for renaming their ground and training facilities, suggesting that on top of their basic sponsorship fee, the club managed 400 million verified impressions on social media, worth £2million.

Knighthead following in the footsteps of Birmingham City's previous owners

It is not the first time that the owners of Birmingham City have paid to sponsor the club’s stadium and training ground.

Back in 2018, it was announced that the club’s then-owners, Trillion Trophy Asia, had agreed to sponsor both the stadium and the club’s training facilities.

It was the first time that the Blues’ home had been renamed for sponsorship reasons, with their ground being called St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium for the 2018/19, 2019/20, and 2020/21 seasons.

Their Wast Hills training base was also renamed, becoming known as the Trillion Trophy Training Centre for the duration of the deal.

However, aside from the deal being described as “significant”, no total value was ever revealed.