Newcastle United have agreed a new commercial partnership that will earn the club around £6 million per year from sponsorship tied to their training ground and training kit.
The deal marks the first time Newcastle have secured both a training ground naming-rights partner and a training-kit sleeve sponsor.
South African sports drinks company KNOX Hydration has signed a three-year agreement with the club.
Under the partnership, KNOX Hydration will take naming rights for Newcastle’s current training facility.
The club’s training ground at Darsley Park will officially carry the company’s branding from July 1. Their brand will appear on the sleeve of Newcastle’s training kit.
However, Newcastle are still searching for a more lucrative front-of-training-kit sponsor.
Club officials have confirmed that interest has already been registered from several potential partners.
The agreement represents the first major commercial partnership completed since chief executive David Hopkinson joined the club last September.
Hopkinson has made increasing Newcastle’s commercial income a key priority.
The Canadian executive previously said the club must maximise every possible revenue stream to compete with the Premier League’s biggest sides.
Financial regulations in English football restrict how much clubs can spend based on their income.
That means Newcastle must significantly grow their commercial revenue if they are to increase investment in their squad.
The club’s latest financial results illustrate the scale of the challenge. Newcastle generated around £335 million in total revenue during the 2023/24 season.
That figure remains well below the average income of the Premier League’s so-called ‘Big Six’ clubs.
Commercial revenue for Newcastle stood at roughly £120m during that period. By contrast, several of the league’s biggest clubs generate more than £300m annually from commercial partnerships.
The new sponsorship agreement is an important step in closing that gap.
Newcastle are also continuing to invest in improvements to their current training facility.
The club have already spent heavily upgrading Darsley Park since the takeover led by the Public Investment Fund in 2021.
Plans for a new state-of-the-art training complex near Newcastle International Airport remain under consideration.
However, that project is still several years away due to planning and construction requirements.
The KNOX Hydration agreement will run until 2029. Club officials believe further sponsorship partnerships could follow as Newcastle continue to expand their commercial strategy.
