Peterborough United

Peterborough fans were less than pleased when the club announced in 2014 that they had reached an agreement with the Norwegian company ABAX to rename London Road Stadium to The ABAX Stadium. It put an end to a 101 year tradition for the ground, with it never having had a different name since it originally opened in 1913. Back then the stadium, such as it was, consisted of little more than a football pitch and a wooden shack that could house a mere 250 supporters. Some way from the 15,000+ it can house today and even further from the record capacity of 30,096 set in 1965. Things could have been significantly different for the club had the council terminated their lease of the land during the Second World War. A different sports club were close to taking a 10-year lease of the land on which the London Road Stadium was built before two local businessmen paid the £50 rent owed to the council. In the 1950s the club bought the land the stadium was built on from the council and this allowed them to start major developments of the area. The new trend for stadium naming rights clearly caught on with the club, despite the fan's disapproval, as in 2020 they signed a ten year deal worth £2 million which will see the stadium referred to as Weston Homes Stadium.