More football stadiums will have their own logo

A new trend is emerging in the world of football: stadium logos. The latest club to embrace this trend is Everton. The 2025/26 season will mark the official inauguration of the new stadium, a 52,888-seat venue costing around £800 million which, following the sale of naming rights, is officially called the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The name of the British law firm will not only appear on the structure built along the Bramley-Moore Dock but has also been incorporated into the logo designed by the Toffees to give a social and commercial identity to the new stadium, represented by a white silhouette on a navy blue background. Before Everton, Real Madrid had already created a logo for their stadium as part of the many initiatives accompanying the renovation of the Santiago Bernabéu.

This logo trend fits into a broader context. Football stadiums are no longer designed to be used exclusively on match days. They need to operate seven days a week. Sports clubs now also operate in real estate, with stadiums being seen as assets that need to generate revenue. They are turning into massive shopping centers for fans and enthusiasts, offering as many services as possible. This creates a need for facilities that can also host major events such as concerts, NFL games, or boxing matches—take the example of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, another venue for which a custom logo has been created.

It is indeed a trend, but not a brand-new concept, as the creation of stadium or sports arena logos is neither exclusive to football nor did it originate in Europe. As often happens in such cases, the inspiration comes from the United States. All NFL stadiums have their own specific logos, just as in MLB, sacred venues like Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park have their own logos. The same goes for the NBA, from the historic Madison Square Garden to the brand-new Intuit Dome. As we’ve seen, football is also adopting this practice, and it’s only a matter of time before more logos appear. For instance, it will be interesting to see what Barcelona does when the Camp Nou reopens or what moves Manchester United will make if the project to build a new Old Trafford goes ahead. Other examples in Europe of logoed stadiums are the Allianz Arena in Munich and San Siro in football as well as Twickenham in rugby.

It is also worth noting at this point that the creation of a stadium logo is not just a trend or an artistic whim, but rather a well-defined commercial strategy. It’s a necessary step toward the long-term goal of separating the identity of the stadium from its relationship with the home team. Giving a stadium a parallel life also involves having a dedicated website or social media pages, which makes having a profile image essential. In this sense, architectural forms serve as natural inspiration for logo design, transforming a simple stadium into a business.