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作者

Dominic Medway;Gary Warnaby;Leah Gillooly;Steve Millington

来源

URBAN GEOGRAPHY,Vol.40,Issue6,P.784-804

语言

英文

关键字

Critical toponymy,scale,stadium names,football,brands

作者单位

Institute of Place Management, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

摘要

This article examines issues of scale in urban toponymic inscription. The specific focus of inquiry is toponymic commodification, whereby corporate brand names of international scope are imposed on English football stadia and their locally embedded fan communities. We employ primary data relating to three football clubs in the Greater Manchester conurbation, all of which have sold their stadium naming rights to corporate entities. Drawing on fans’ perspectives, our findings initially surface the scalar tensions arising from such occurrences. We explore how football club authorities attempt to manage these tensions; first through efforts to embed corporate names into the fabric of urban communities, and second by using commemoration to valorize notions of the “local” for their fan base. The article concludes by discussing how our findings deepen understanding of critical toponymies, particularly in terms of theorizing scale and shedding light on the workings of neoliberal agendas for controlling urban space.KEYWORDS: Critical toponymy, scale, stadium names, football, brandsIntroductionSince the early 1990s, there has been growing academic interest in critical toponymy, which lies at the intersection of place naming, place making and power (Vuolteenaho & Berg, 2009 Vuolteenaho, Jani, & Berg, Lawrence. (2009). Towards critical toponymies. In Lawrence Berg & Jani Vuolteenaho (Eds.), Critical toponymies: The contested politics of place naming (pp. 1–18). Farnham: Ashgate. [Google Scholar]). Much of this work considers the political dimensions that underpin the urban toponymic landscape, particularly via street naming (e.g. Azaryahu, 1996 Azaryahu, Maoz. (1996). The power of commemorative street names. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 14(3), 311–330.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Karimi, 2016 Karimi, Ali. (2016). Street fights: The commodification of place names in post-Taliban Kabul City. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 106(3), 738–753.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Rose-Redwood, 2008a Rose-Redwood, Reuben. (2008a). From number to name: Symbolic capital, places of memory and the politics of street renaming in New York City. Social & Cultural Geography, 9(4), 431–452.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2008b Rose-Redwood, Reuben. (2008b). “Sixth Avenue is now a memory”: Regimes of spatial inscription and the performative limits of the official city-text. Political Geography, 27(8), 875–894.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Shoval, 2013 Shoval, Noam. (2013). Street-naming, tourism development and cultural conflict: The case of the Old City of Acre/Akko/Akka. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 38(4), 612–626.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and as a means of power, identity and nation-building by government institutions in postcolonial or post-authoritarian/totalitarian contexts (e.g. Duminy, 2014 Duminy, James. (2014). Street renaming, symbolic capital, and resistance in Durban, South Africa. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 32(2), 310–328.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Light & Young, 2014 Light, Duncan, & Young, Craig. (2014). Habit, memory, and the persistence of socialist-era street names in postsocialist Bucharest, Romania. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 104(3), 668–685.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Yeoh, 2009 Yeoh, Brenda. (2009). Street-naming and nation-building: Toponymic inscriptions of nationhood in Singapore. In Lawrence Berg & Jani Vuolteenaho (Eds.), Critical toponymies: The contested politics of place naming (pp. 71–84). Farnham: Ashgate. [Google Scholar]). However, as Hagen (2011 Hagen, Joshua. (2011). Theorizing scale in critical place-name studies. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 10(1), 23–27. [Google Scholar]) notes, “[a]lthough often implicit in toponymic studies, theorizations of scale are seldom engaged in a sustained manner” (p. 24). This is manifest in a paucity of research into how constructions of scale are deployed in urban toponymic practice by relevant place stakeholders.Our paper addresses this lacuna by investigating the inter-scalar power relationships involved in the (re)naming of football stadia by sponsoring corporate entities – or what Boyd (2000 Boyd, Josh. (2000). Selling home: Corporate stadium names and the destruction of commemoration. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 28(4), 330–346.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) refers to as “selling home.” The spatial remit of these sponsoring brands can often be far wider (typically international or global) than that of the clubs concerned, which have been described as “small businesses that are locally embedded” (Edensor & Millington, 2008 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2008). ‘This is Our City’: Branding football and local embeddedness. Global Networks, 8(2), 172–193.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], p. 188). In particular, we focus on scalar tensions arising from the juxtaposition of internationally oriented brands as stadium toponyms with the typically strong connections of football clubs to urban locales and their populations. This emphasizes how the construction of sporting identity continues to resist reductionist accounts by clinging onto spatially rooted distinctiveness, usually within urban contexts (Edensor & Millington, 2008 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2008). ‘This is Our City’: Branding football and local embeddedness. Global Networks, 8(2), 172–193.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Williams, 2006 Williams, John. (2006). ‘Protect me from what I want’: Football fandom, celebrity cultures and ‘new’ football in England. Soccer & Society, 7(1), 96–114.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). Here, we can turn to Andrews and Ritzer’s (2007 Andrews, David, & Ritzer, George. (2007). The grobal in the sporting glocal. Global Networks, 7(2), 135–153.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) critique of the “constitutive inter-relationship between the global and the local” (p. 137), which avoids flattening accounts of globalization’s dominance by acknowledging local agency.Counter to the above arguments, we should not romanticize the local as a site of resistance, as this deflects from the global and “imperialistic” (Andrews & Ritzer, 2007 Andrews, David, & Ritzer, George. (2007). The grobal in the sporting glocal. Global Networks, 7(2), 135–153.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) ambition(s) of some locally embedded institutions and organizations, not least those football clubs that consistently occupy the highest echelons of Europe’s various elite leagues (e.g. the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga, and Spain’s La Liga). Thus, it has been argued that clubs such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea, to name but a few, have established themselves as global brands, with legions of fans far removed from the club’s locality, and who can be positioned as consumers of its successes and failures (Bodet & Chanavat, 2010 Bodet, Guillaume, & Chanavat, Nicolas. (2010). Building global football brand equity: Lessons from the Chinese market. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 22(1), 55–66.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Furthermore, an ongoing and intense bidding war for the global television rights to elite league football has fueled its internationalized marketization (Millward, 2013 Millward, Peter. (2013). New football directors in the twenty-first century: Profit and revenue in the English Premier League’s transnational age. Leisure Studies, 32(4), 399–414.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Andrews and Ritzer (2007 Andrews, David, & Ritzer, George. (2007). The grobal in the sporting glocal. Global Networks, 7(2), 135–153.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) indicate that in a sporting context such developments are best captured by the deployment of the term “grobal” – an apparent neologism combining the words “growth” and “global”, which emphasizes “the fact that there are global processes that overwhelm the local rather than neatly integrating the two” (p. 137).Building on the above issues, our paper is also concerned with an aspect of critical toponymy deemed worthy of further research (Rose-Redwood, Alderman, & Azaryahu, 2010 Rose-Redwood, Reuben, Alderman, Derek, & Azaryahu, Maoz. (2010). Geographies of toponymic inscription: New directions in critical place-name studies. Progress in Human Geography, 34(4), 453–470.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]); namely, toponymic commodification and the selling of naming rights to places. This connects to wider debates regarding the commercialization of urban space, particularly when cities embrace an entrepreneurial agenda (Harvey, 1989 Harvey, David. (1989). From managerialism to entrepreneurialism: The transformation of urban governance in late capitalism. Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography, 71(1), 3–17.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). While Light and Young (2015 Light, Duncan, & Young, Craig. (2015). Toponymy as commodity: Exploring the economic dimensions of urban place names. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 39(3), 435–450.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) identify private sector involvement in the naming of sports stadia as a well-established manifestation of such practice, they also recognize that there has been “limited scrutiny of this phenomenon” (p. 439 – for notable exceptions see Boyd, 2000 Boyd, Josh. (2000). Selling home: Corporate stadium names and the destruction of commemoration. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 28(4), 330–346.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Church & Penny, 2013 Church, Andrew, & Penny, Simon. (2013). Power, space and the new stadium: The example of Arsenal Football Club. Sport in Society, 16(6), 819–834.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]; Vuolteenaho & Kolamo, 2012 Vuolteenaho, Jani, & Kolamo, Sami. (2012). Textually produced landscape spectacles? A Debordian reading of Finnish namescapes and English soccerscapes (pp. 132–158). Helsinki: Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. [Google Scholar]). Thus, by examining the corporate (re)naming of three football stadia within the Greater Manchester conurbation of northwest England, we advance understanding of urban toponymic commodification, and specifically reveal how scalar processes and interactions play a crucial role in this. In doing so, we contribute empirical evidence towards emerging debates regarding the use of corporate toponyms, which have been largely dependent on secondary sources (e.g. Light & Young, 2015 Light, Duncan, & Young, Craig. (2015). Toponymy as commodity: Exploring the economic dimensions of urban place names. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 39(3), 435–450.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Medway & Warnaby, 2014 Medway, Dominic, & Warnaby, Gary. (2014). What’s in a name? Place branding and toponymic commodification. Environment and Planning A, 46(1), 153–167.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Linking back to Harvey’s (1989 Harvey, David. (1989). From managerialism to entrepreneurialism: The transformation of urban governance in late capitalism. Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography, 71(1), 3–17.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) notion of an urban entrepreneurialism, we also shed light on the machinations of the neoliberal city by demonstrating how institutional elites enact management processes to facilitate the influence of corporate toponyms over urban space.We begin with a review of literature relating to toponymic commodification, scalar perspectives in critical toponymy, and the local embeddedness of football. Following a brief overview of the three clubs studied, and the data collection/analysis procedures undertaken, our findings are reported under two broad thematic areas: 1) fan perspectives on the scalar tensions arising from corporate (re)naming of their club’s stadium; and 2) organizational management of stadia toponyms from the perspective of club authorities. The discussion and conclusion draws the threads of our argument together to shed light on the scalar complexity of urban toponymic inscription in a footballing context.Toponymic commodification, scale, and football’s embeddednessPrevious work has shown that corporate entities can rename areas of urban space for attempted economic gain. Medway and Warnaby (2014 Medway, Dominic, & Warnaby, Gary. (2014). What’s in a name? Place branding and toponymic commodification. Environment and Planning A, 46(1), 153–167.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) identify how property developers and estate agents in London refer to an area of Kings Cross as the “Regent Quarter” in an attempt to boost property values and attract inward investment. Similarly, Vuolteenaho and Ainiala (2009 Vuolteenaho, Jani, & Ainiala, Terhi. (2009). Planning and revamping urban toponymy: Ideological alterations in the linguistic landscaping of Vuosaari suburb, eastern Helsinki. In Lawrence Berg & Jani Vuolteenaho (Eds.), Critical toponymies: The contested politics of place naming (pp. 227–251). Farnham: Ashgate. [Google Scholar]) demonstrate that the toponymic landscape of Vuosaari, a residential district of Helsinki, reveals “a burgeoning neoliberal tendency in suburban linguistic namescaping, ultimately intended to enthral people as consumers” (p. 247).We are concerned with corporate toponyms as applied to football stadia. Whilst naming sporting venues after wealthy team owners dates back to the early twentieth century (Leeds, Leeds, & Pistolet, 2007 Leeds, Eva, Leeds, Michael, & Pistolet, Irina. (2007). A stadium by any other name: The value of naming rights. Journal of Sports Economics, 8(6), 581–595.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), the purposeful sale of naming rights to stadia by football clubs and their owners is a more recent development. What makes this different from other attempts to rename urban space is that it typically involves the direct use of a corporate name, arguably moving into the realm of toponymic branding. To illustrate, 14 out of 18 German Bundesliga football stadia had been renamed after corporate brands by 2013 (Woisetschläger, Haselhoff, & Backhaus, 2014 Woisetschläger, David, Haselhoff, Vanessa, & Backhaus, Christof. (2014). Fans’ resistance to naming right sponsorships: Why stadium names remain the same for fans. European Journal of Marketing, 48(7/8), 1487–1510.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]); and in 2017, seven of 20 English Premier League stadia also bore a corporate name (Football Tripper, 2017 Football Tripper. (2017). Premier league 2016/2017: Premier League stadiums. Retrieved from http://footballtripper.com/europe/england/premier-league/ [Google Scholar]).However, attempts to apply corporate names to stadia are not always well received by fans. Such a reaction was evident in the 2011 debacle over the renaming of Newcastle United’s St James Park ground, so called since 1880, to the “Sports Direct Arena.” Significant in this case was the fact that the owner of Newcastle United Football Club, Mike Ashley, also owned the company Sports Direct International plc, with which the stadium naming rights were associated. It was argued by the club that the name change to the Sports Direct Arena signaled the financial potential of Newcastle United to other prospective sponsors, and that, in this respect, the St James’ Park name was no longer “commercially attractive” (BBC, 2011 BBC. (2011). Newcastle rename St James’ Park the Sports Direct Arena. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/15668207 [Google Scholar]). In response, fans took direct action, including painting the original name back onto the perimeter wall of the stadium from where it had been removed (BBC, 2012 BBC. (2012). St James’ Park graffiti: Michael Atkinson admits painting stadium. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-17077966 [Google Scholar]). As a result, by 2013 the St James’ Park name was reinstated (Edwards, 2012 Edwards, Luke. (2012, October 09). Newcastle United sponsorship deal with Wonga will see St James’ Park reinstated as stadium name. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/newcastle-united/9596399/Newcastle-United-sponsorship-deal-with-Wonga-will-see-St-James-Park-reinstated-as-stadium-name.html [Google Scholar]).The corporate renaming of a football stadium arguably moves beyond a straightforward business transaction embedded within conventional sponsorship dealings, when it extends the political and economic influence of private finance into a formerly public realm. This is the recognition that it is not just football stadia themselves that may carry a corporate name, but also the urban space and infrastructure surrounding them, which can become similarly rebranded. Thus, the area around Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium is now rarely referred to in Manchester City Council documents and plans by its former name of “Bradford,” but as the “Etihad Campus” (see, for example, Manchester City Council Executive, 2017 Manchester City Council Executive. (2017, March 8). The eastlands regeneration framework. Report to economy scrutiny committee. Retrieved from http://www.manchester.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/2626/executive [Google Scholar], p. 18). This is reflected in local residents’ concerns that the “Bradford” name will be erased with the ongoing march of urban regeneration (Glendinning, 2013 Glendinning, Amy. (2013, January 12). Why Bradford will live in our memories. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved from http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/why-bradford-will-live-in-our-memories-889068 [Google Scholar]). And, as we discuss below, the “Etihad” name has also found its way onto a tram stop of the city’s public transport network. These practices are not simply confined to particular sports or countries; in the US, for example, the Dallas Cowboys American football team play at the AT&T Stadium, which is found on AT&T Way.Such developments appear to demonstrate a “stealthy” (Brown, 2015 Brown, Wendy. (2015). Undoing the demos. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [Google Scholar]) approach to the neoliberalization of urban space (Peck & Tickell, 2002 Peck, Jamie, & Tickell, Adam. (2002). Neoliberalizing space. Antipode, 34(3), 380–404.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), which “is caught up in specific forms of naming that symbolically and materially solidify current (and historical) processes of capitalist accumulation by dispossession” (Berg, 2011 Berg, Lawrence. (2011). Banal naming, neoliberalism, and landscapes of dispossession. ACME: an International Journal for Critical Geographies, 10(1), 13–22. [Google Scholar], p. 13). In the case of elite international football clubs, these toponymic practices are often ably abetted by super-rich owners, who may seek corporate value, as well as personal status, via financial involvement in their club (Franck, 2010 Franck, Egon. (2010). Private firm, public corporation or member’s association governance structures in European football. International Journal of Sport Finance, 5(2), 108–127.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) – indeed, in this sense, the media and supporters’ associations often portray football clubs as “playthings” for the rich (Hayward, 2017 Hayward, Paul. (2017, September 04). Campaigners urge government to clamp down on football club ownership. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/09/04/campaigners-urge-government-clamp-football-club-ownership/ [Google Scholar]). Current practice also suggests that corporate value is viewed by a club’s ownership as being further enhanced through the imposition of corporate stadium names. This appears especially the case when these stadium names relate to companies in which a club owner may also have financial involvement, as seen with Newcastle United (outlined above) and Manchester City (explained in more detail below).In another context, Light and Young (2015 Light, Duncan, & Young, Craig. (2015). Toponymy as commodity: Exploring the economic dimensions of urban place names. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 39(3), 435–450.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) identify examples of corporate toponyms in Hungary, manifest in the long-established practice of naming streets after commercial enterprises; a phenomenon more common following the end of state socialism in 1989. Their work also emphasizes the importance of scalar issues, in that some streets with corporate names reflect the embeddedness of local companies. However, as Light and Young (2015 Light, Duncan, & Young, Craig. (2015). Toponymy as commodity: Exploring the economic dimensions of urban place names. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 39(3), 435–450.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) note: [a] further set of street names reflect the significance of international investment for the Hungarian economy, and the naming practice is clearly linked with promoting Hungary as firmly embedded in global capitalist economic networks (p. 442).This is evident in toponyms such as Mercedes Street, Nokia Street, and Samsung Square; although demonstrating local as well as global ties, these streets are close to production facilities operated by the companies concerned. Furthermore, Light and Young (2015 Light, Duncan, & Young, Craig. (2015). Toponymy as commodity: Exploring the economic dimensions of urban place names. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 39(3), 435–450.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) indicate the inter-scalar implications inherent in the complex stakeholder relationships underpinning such urban toponymic practice: [i]n some cases the companies involved built new roads, which they named after themselves, while in other instances businesses paid local authorities for the naming rights. There are also examples of urban administrations choosing to name streets after companies without payment, perhaps as a means of establishing good relations with them, and in order to embed them (and the investment and employment that they bring) into the local economy (p. 443).This clearly reveals the importance of scalar considerations in toponymic commodification. However, as noted above, Hagen (2011 Hagen, Joshua. (2011). Theorizing scale in critical place-name studies. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 10(1), 23–27. [Google Scholar], p. 23) states that, aside from a few studies (e.g. Alderman, 2003 Alderman, Derek. (2003). Street names and the scaling of memory: The politics of commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr within the African American community. Area, 35(2), 163–173.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), toponymic research “often ignores how constructions of ‘scale’ are deployed.”When considering issues relating to scale in wider geographical research, Hagen (2011 Hagen, Joshua. (2011). Theorizing scale in critical place-name studies. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 10(1), 23–27. [Google Scholar], p. 24) suggests general agreement “that scale can be conceived as a practice or process rather than an ontological given,” thereby connecting to notions of relationality and plurality in scalar matters. Similarly, Brenner (2001 Brenner, Neil. (2001). The limits to scale? Methodological reflections on scalar structuration. Progress in Human Geography, 25(4), 591–614.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) contends that the “politics of scale” should be considered, not in terms of singular connotations (i.e. as occurring within a relatively bounded geographical area), but from a plural perspective, denoting “the production, reconfiguration or contestation of particular differentiations, orderings and hierarchies among geographical scales” (p. 600, emphasis in original). This is articulated in terms of “scalar structuration,” whereby the “meaning, function, history and dynamics of any one geographical scale can only be grasped relationally, in terms of upwards, downwards, and sidewards links to other geographical scales” (Brenner, 2001 Brenner, Neil. (2001). The limits to scale? Methodological reflections on scalar structuration. Progress in Human Geography, 25(4), 591–614.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], p. 605).A complementary viewpoint is articulated by Marston, Jones, and Woodward (2005 Marston, Sallie, Jones, John, III, & Woodward, Keith. (2005). Human geography without scale. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 30(4), 416–432.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], p. 419), again challenging the “rigidities” of traditional approaches to the concept of scale, arguing for the local as an “entry point to understanding ‘broader’ processes, effectively, examining scale from underneath.” This perspective is manifest in the work of Howitt (1993 Howitt, Richard. (1993). ‘A world in a grain of sand’: Towards a reconceptualization of geographical scale. Australian Geographer, 24(1), 33–44.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Cox (1998 Cox, Kevin. (1998). Spaces of dependence, spaces of engagement and the politics of scale, or: Looking for local politics. Political Geography, 17(1), 1–23.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), with the latter distinguishing between what he terms spaces of dependence and engagement. Here, spaces of dependence are defined by more-or-less localized social relations, which define place-specific conditions for material well-being and sense of significance – for our purposes this might include fan affiliation to the local football team. By contrast, spaces of engagement constitute broader sets of relationships of a more global character, which may act to undermine or dissolve spaces of dependence. Drawing on such ideas, we highlight the interactions arising from the imposition of toponyms as corporate brands of international scope on the unique local embeddedness and rooted place identity of football stadia, clubs and their associated fan communities.In unpacking football’s embeddedness, particularly for English clubs with their links to individual cities, towns, and specific urban districts, Edensor and Millington (2008 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2008). ‘This is Our City’: Branding football and local embeddedness. Global Networks, 8(2), 172–193.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) note the strong ties between teams and the communities in which they were established and have subsequently developed (see also Stone, 2007 Stone, Chris. (2007). The role of football in everyday life. Soccer & Society, 8(2–3), 169–184.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). These ties are sometimes reflected in the persistence of team nicknames linked to a historic industrial heritage of the town or city in question. Thus, Sheffield United are known as “the Blades,” and Stoke City “the Potters” – a reference to the former global dominance of these cities in cutlery and pottery production respectively.Traditionally, fans have supported their local team, and their cohesion as a community is founded on shared experience and memories (Hand, 2001 Hand, David. (2001). City ‘til I die? Recent trends in popular football writing (Review Article). Soccer & Society, 2(1), 99–112.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). Accordingly, football stadia and their environs are rendered as “memory places” (Boyd, 2000 Boyd, Josh. (2000). Selling home: Corporate stadium names and the destruction of commemoration. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 28(4), 330–346.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and sites of pilgrimage (Bale, 2000 Bale, John. (2000). The changing face of football: Stadiums and communities. Soccer & Society, 1(1), 91–101.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]; Church & Penny, 2013 Church, Andrew, & Penny, Simon. (2013). Power, space and the new stadium: The example of Arsenal Football Club. Sport in Society, 16(6), 819–834.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), within which a team’s triumphs (and disasters) have occurred. Moreover, football stadia are often closely linked to their surrounding areas via road names (Bale, 1989 Bale, John. (1989). Sports geography. London: Routledge.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), or other similar references in the local signscape, including the names of small businesses. Local embeddedness is also reflected in place-specific match-day rituals and routines centered on stadia (Edensor & Millington, 2010 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2010). Going to the match: The transformation of the match-day routine at Manchester City FC. In Sybille Frank & Silke Steets (Eds.), Stadium worlds: Football, space and the built environment (pp. 146–162). Abingdon: Routledge. [Google Scholar]).Nevertheless, Edensor and Millington (2008 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2008). ‘This is Our City’: Branding football and local embeddedness. Global Networks, 8(2), 172–193.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) also recognize that local ties can be eroded by the contemporary restructuring of the football “industry.” This takes many forms, not least the growing sponsorship of clubs (especially in the game’s higher echelons) by international corporations and their brands, and the associated sale of stadia naming rights, which arguably “dilutes” a club’s “local inscription” (Edensor & Millington, 2008 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2008). ‘This is Our City’: Branding football and local embeddedness. Global Networks, 8(2), 172–193.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], p. 178). Conversely, the influence of football’s restructuring forces might sometimes be overstated. For example, the high-profile club Manchester United has ruled out any corporate renaming of its Old Trafford ground, supposedly to preserve the tradition and associations with which this original name is imbued (Ogden, 2015 Ogden, Mark. (2015, April 21). Manchester United rule out selling Old Trafford naming rights. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/11594591/Manchester-United-rule-out-selling-Old-Trafford-naming-rights.html [Google Scholar]). A more critical reading might contend that clubs like Manchester United have evolved into significant corporate entities in their own right, thereby viewing their stadium name as a lucrative brand asset requiring protection.Context and methodAs noted above, this study focuses on three clubs in the Greater Manchester conurbation, which have all changed their original stadium names to ones associated with a corporate sponsor. The clubs are Manchester City, which, at the time of writing, plays in the English Premier League (the top tier of English professional football); Championship (second tier) team Bolton Wanderers; and Oldham Athletic from League One (third tier).From 1923–2003, Manchester City played at the club-owned Maine Road stadium to the south of the city center, before moving to a stadium in the east of the city (Manchester City, 2017 Manchester City. (2017). Timeline. Retrieved from https://www.mancity.com/fans-and-community/club/club-history [Google Scholar]), originally built for athletics events at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. This new venue was initially named the City of Manchester Stadium, but in 2011 the club negotiated with the City Council (the stadium’s owners) for control of the naming rights in return for an increase in rent payments. This paved the way for a 10-year deal with international airline operator Etihad (Taylor, 2011 Taylor, Daniel. (2011, July 08). Manchester City bank record £400m sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/jul/08/manchester-city-deal-etihad-airways [Google Scholar]), owned, like the club, by Abu Dhabi’s ruling Al Nahyan family. As indicated above, the development of the area around the Etihad Stadium has also been funded by the company and named the Etihad Campus.Bolton Wanderers played at Burnden Park, a club-owned ground close to Bolton town center, from 1895–1997. The club then moved to the newly-built Reebok Stadium, which it also owned, on the outskirts of Bolton Metropolitan Borough. This venue was initially named after the global brand Reebok, but was subsequently renamed Macron Stadium in 2014, after an Italian-owned international sportswear company (Bonnar, 2014 Bonnar, Neil (2014, April 24). Bolton Wanderers’ Reebok Stadium to be renamed Macron Stadium. Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/11169269.UPDATED__Reebok_Stadium_to_be_renamed_Macron_Stadium/ [Google Scholar]). Oldham Athletic have played at the club-owned11. Boundary Park was owned by Oldham Athletic between 1899 and 1999, when the ground was sold to Oldham Property Partnerships (OPP), a joint venture company involving Oldham Council. This allowed the football club to raise funds and avoid going out of business. In 2005, the club bought back their ownership of Boundary Park from OPP (MEN, 2013 MEN. (2013, January 21). Boundary park bought back. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved from http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/boundary-park-bought-back-1120835 [Google Scholar]).View all notes Boundary Park stadium since 1899 (The Beautiful History, 2017 The Beautiful History. (2017). Oldham athletic. Retrieved from https://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-greatermanchester.php [Google Scholar]). In 2014, this venue was renamed SportsDirect.com Park, following a five-year naming rights deal (BBC, 2014 BBC. (2014). Oldham athletic: Boundary Park to become SportsDirect.com Park. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/28144525 [Google Scholar]) with the UK-based international sportswear manufacturer and retailer Sports Direct International plc.22. Since this renaming, the company Sports Direct has been involved in media controversy over its employee working conditions and contractual arrangements (e.g. Goodley & Ashby, 2015a Goodley, Simon, & Ashby, Jonathan. (2015a, December 09). A day at ‘the gulag’: What it’s like to work at Sports Direct’s warehouse. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/09/sports-direct-warehouse-work-conditions [Google Scholar], 2015b Goodley, Simon, & Ashby, Jonathan. (2015b, December 09). Revealed: How Sports Direct effectively pays below minimum wage. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/09/how-sports-direct-effectively-pays-below-minimum-wage-pay [Google Scholar]). These revelations only began to surface whilst the fieldwork for our study was being undertaken, and were not mentioned in detail by our research participants, specifically those from Oldham.View all notes This company is also known for its present and past financial involvement with other UK football clubs, including Newcastle United (see above).Our findings are drawn from three key data sources collected by two of the authors. First, the environs of the three stadia studied were walked to get a “feel” for the urban areas in which they were situated and observe any toponymic congruity between current and former stadia names, and those of streets and buildings in the vicinity. These data were recorded using field notes and photography. Second, group discussions were undertaken with fans of the three clubs, comprising broad-based topic prompts focused on issues relating to corporate stadium (re)naming. These discussions took place in mutually agreed venues. Participants were recruited via supporters’ association representatives and through online sources such as fan message boards, where we gained permission from message board moderators to approach fans. Reflecting a recognized male gender bias among English football fans (EFL, 2015 EFL. (2015). Infographic: 2015 fan survey. Retrieved from http://www.efl.com/news/article/2015/infographic-2015-fan-survey-2784954.aspx [Google Scholar]), participants were predominantly male (14 males and 4 females). We also attempted to gain the views of adult fans across a wide variety of age groups, with participants ranging between 20 and 69 years in age. Third, to obtain an organizational perspective, interviews, each lasting approximately one hour, were conducted with senior executives from the three clubs (one at Bolton, one at Oldham, and two together at Manchester City.)33. For the sake of brevity, we often use the terms “Oldham” and “Bolton” to refer to “Oldham Athletic” and “Bolton Wanderers” respectively. Conversely, we always use the “Manchester City” name in full, as there is another major football team within Manchester.View all notes Both group discussions and interviews were recorded and transcribed.Our epistemological approach to the collection and analysis of data accords with an interpretivist philosophy, emphasizing the importance of how language, discourse and meaning are socially constructed (Myers, 2013 Myers, Michael David. (2013). Qualitative research in business and management (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC: Sage. [Google Scholar]). Consistent with Abdallah and Langley (2014 Abdallah, Charazad, & Langley, Ann. (2014). The double edge of ambiguity in strategic planning. Journal of Management Studies, 51(2), 235–264.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Heracleous (2006 Heracleous, Loizos. (2006). Discourse, interpretation, organization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), we began from the position of viewing all data (i.e. group discussion/executive interview transcripts and field notes) as text. Each author independently reviewed the data, looking for relevant points of interest. Following the tenets of inter-coder reliability (Campbell, Quincy, Osserman, & Pedersen, 2013 Campbell, John, Quincy, Charles, Osserman, Jordan, & Pedersen, Ove. (2013). Coding in-depth semi-structured interviews: Problems of unitization and intercoder reliability and agreement. Sociological Methods & Research, 42(3), 294–320.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), the authors then collectively negotiated their interpretations of the data into the aggregated key themes explored below.Scalar tensions and corporate (re)naming: fan perspectivesAll three clubs studied were open to inter-scalar toponymic tensions (Hagen, 2011 Hagen, Joshua. (2011). Theorizing scale in critical place-name studies. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 10(1), 23–27. [Google Scholar]; Light & Young, 2015 Light, Duncan, & Young, Craig. (2015). Toponymy as commodity: Exploring the economic dimensions of urban place names. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 39(3), 435–450.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), arising from brand names with international presence and scope being applied to their stadia – and in the case of Bolton, more than once. Such brand impositions on stadium spaces hold the potential to conflict with locally embedded fan communities, for whom the stadium is a nexus of regular interaction (see, for example, Edensor & Millington, 2010 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2010). Going to the match: The transformation of the match-day routine at Manchester City FC. In Sybille Frank & Silke Steets (Eds.), Stadium worlds: Football, space and the built environment (pp. 146–162). Abingdon: Routledge. [Google Scholar]). “Conflict,” in this sense, equates closely to ideas in scalar geography outlined above, relating to how spaces of engagement can undermine and dissolve spaces of dependence (Cox, 1998 Cox, Kevin. (1998). Spaces of dependence, spaces of engagement and the politics of scale, or: Looking for local politics. Political Geography, 17(1), 1–23.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). However, fan comments in relation to stadia renaming suggested a distinction between the perspectives of Oldham fans tied to a long-established stadium, and those of Bolton and Manchester City, whose stadia had both been newly-built and involved relocations.Corporate toponyms and the long-established stadiumFrom the outset, many Oldham fans discussed a perceived irrelevance of the SportsDirect.com Park toponym: Boundary Park is Oldham Athletic. SportsDirect.com can be any ground in the country. They can go and sponsor anybody else if they want to. They’re not tied to us at all… there isn’t another Boundary Park (Oldham fan a).Here, the imposition of a corporate toponym highlights the scalar discrepancy between an international brand and local community interests. Tension surfaces in the perceived potential of the corporate name to render Oldham Athletic’s stadium as a space of “nowhereness” (Arefi, 1999 Arefi, Mahyar. (1999). Non-place and placelessness as narratives of loss: Rethinking the notion of place. Journal of Urban Design, 4(2), 179–193.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), or “any ground in the country.” As one fan explained: Boundary Park; it’s got something about it. It’s more a sports name. It’s a park. The area is part of the town. Sports Direct is not part of the town. (Oldham fan b).Similarly, another fan identified how the Boundary Park name “defines a geographical area that people can relate to, whereas you can’t do that with a company” (Oldham fan c).Corporate names were therefore regarded as little more than temporary, removable “place holders” that could not dislodge the original toponym: Boundary Park… it wouldn’t be SportsDirect.com Park because it’s not a permanent name. Boundary Park’s a permanent name, if you know what I mean (Oldham fan a).This dislike of – and unwillingness to engage with – the corporate stadium name encapsulated fans’ protection of, and pride in, their locally embedded and rooted identity (Edensor & Millington, 2008 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2008). ‘This is Our City’: Branding football and local embeddedness. Global Networks, 8(2), 172–193.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Stone, 2007 Stone, Chris. (2007). The role of football in everyday life. Soccer & Society, 8(2–3), 169–184.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]):Oldham fan d: “Some people are more ferocious about their area and their name than other areas.”Oldham fan e: “It’s our pride isn’t it.”Oldham fan d: “It’s like Stoke fans are really ferocious, Newcastle fans are really ferocious.”Oldham fan b: “They need their name, they need their identity.”Oldham fan e: “It’s because those clubs are more rooted in the local environment. If you look at Man United, there’s more fans outside Manchester than there are in.”Oldham fan d: “They’ve got history, but they haven’t got local support. [From] Salford maybe, but otherwise they’re coming from all over the world.”It can be seen here that Oldham fans also contrasted their situation with that of bigger clubs like Manchester United. Whilst it is clearly unrealistic to suggest that Manchester United has not got “local support,” the point remains that such support is inevitably rendered less significant when set against a backdrop of grobal forces (Edensor & Millington, 2008 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2008). ‘This is Our City’: Branding football and local embeddedness. Global Networks, 8(2), 172–193.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; after Andrews & Ritzer, 2007 Andrews, David, & Ritzer, George. (2007). The grobal in the sporting glocal. Global Networks, 7(2), 135–153.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). These forces are geared to promoting and monetizing the football club as a global brand (Hamil, 2008 Hamil, Sean. (2008). Manchester United: The commercial development of a global football brand. In Simon Chadwick & Dave Arthur (Eds.), International cases in the business of sport (pp. 114–134). Oxford: Elsevier.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Lee, 1998 Lee, Simon. (1998). Grey shirts to grey suits: The political economy of English football in the 1990s. In Adam Brown (Ed.), Fanatics! Power, identity and fandom in football (pp. 32–49). London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]), which can result in an international fan base that outnumbers and overshadows that drawn from the local area.Corporate toponyms and newly-built stadiaFor Manchester City and Bolton fans, scalar tensions were less defined, perhaps reflecting the fact that both the Etihad and Macron stadia are recently built, and have involved relocations from the clubs’ former “homes.” Consequently, the corporate name was less likely to be in direct conflict with any deep, topophilic bond (Tuan, 1974 Tuan, Yi-Fu. (1974). Topophilia: A study of environmental perception, attitudes and values. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. [Google Scholar]) between fans and their new stadium and its surroundings, as this had not had time to fully develop. This accords with Edensor’s (2015 Edensor, Tim. (2015). Producing atmospheres at the match: Fan cultures, commercialisation and mood management in English football. Emotion, Space and Society, 15(May), 82–89.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], p. 83) suggestion that the emotional and affective sense of belonging that typifies the connectedness of fans and football stadia is embedded through “repetitive practical, embodied engagement,” and therefore takes time to “settle” and “knit” in new locations. As one Bolton fan stated: We haven’t got the history yet [at] the Reebok/Macron. Maybe in 50 years’ time there might be, because the history will be there; but because it’s a new stadium, or still quite a new stadium, it’s not got the history (Bolton fan a).Despite this, the same fan contrasted the local connections of the former Reebok corporate stadium name (a global brand, but originating in Bolton), with the absence of a similar local heritage for Macron: Reebok was kind of a Bolton firm…, it was at least keeping it within Bolton. It wasn’t like it was branded or something, like it is now (Bolton fan a).Another fan noted that there had been a loss of local connectivity and embeddedness for the club through this change of corporate toponym, claiming, “We’ve lost that local side of it to an Italian company” (Bolton fan b).Stadium newness also deflected concerns over the Etihad name amongst Manchester City fans: For us, it was slightly different because it’s a new stadium, we had no history (Manchester City fan a).In addition, fans recognize the fact that since 2008 the Etihad name can be associated with significant financial investment in the club by its current owners, the Al Nahyan family. This has clearly contributed to the team’s most recent success in the form of FA and League Cup wins in 2011 and 2016 respectively, and two Premier League titles in 2012 and 2014: …because that’s a new stadium, I didn’t really give a monkeys, if it’s more money to buy players… So changing it to something like the Etihad, I think we’re okay with: a) because it’s new, b) because it’s a direct relationship between the owners of the club, and not many people were unhappy with the owners (Manchester City fan b).Notwithstanding Manchester City fans’ general acceptance of the Etihad stadium name, the brand’s international scope has inevitably pushed the club further onto a global stage, to rival the media profile of footballing neighbors Manchester United. This has attracted a new breed of football flâneurs (Giulianotti, 2002 Giulianotti, Richard. (2002). Supporters, followers, fans, and flâneurs: A taxonomy of spectator identities in football. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 26(1), 25–46.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and “tourist” fans (Linden & Linden, 2017 Linden, Henrik, & Linden, Sara. (2017). Fans and fan cultures: Tourism, consumerism and social media. London: Palgrave Macmillan.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], p. 159) that are not always welcomed by existing supporters: We’re getting tourists now… There is an uneasy relationship between those who have been there a long time and those who are new to it. I feel that tension sometimes (Manchester City fan c).There is also an apparent “othering” discourse at play here, whereby genuine fan identity is constructed as something time-served and locally rooted, compared to new fans from outside the area who are devoid of such credentials.Prior to Etihad’s involvement in Manchester City, Edensor and Millington (2008 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2008). ‘This is Our City’: Branding football and local embeddedness. Global Networks, 8(2), 172–193.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) optimistically proposed that the club was attempting to apply a “glocal” strategy of “nuanced embeddedness” to its business, combining a global focus with continued sensitivity to local fan bases. However, fans’ views above suggest that ongoing tensions between global and local fan bases, catalyzed in part by the introduction of the Etihad toponym, are becoming increasingly challenging to manage effectively without a “flattening out of place, identity and culture” (Edensor & Millington, 2008 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2008). ‘This is Our City’: Branding football and local embeddedness. Global Networks, 8(2), 172–193.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], p. 173) at the local level, and an inevitable drift of the club towards grobalization.Imagined resistance to corporate stadium toponymsThe above discussion indicates that a club’s move to a new stadium denudes the local embeddedness of its fan base to some degree. Others suggest this is manifest in the disruption of fans’ match day routines and associated geographies of practice in new stadia settings (Edensor & Millington, 2010 Edensor, Tim, & Millington, Steve. (2010). Going to the match: The transformation of the match-day routine at Manchester City FC. In Sybille Frank & Silke Steets (Eds.), Stadium worlds: Football, space and the built environment (pp. 146–162). Abingdon: Routledge. [Google Scholar]). Such a weakening of place connectedness appears to temper fans’ hostile responses to the renaming of their new stadium after an international brand, as locally embedded notions of identity have not had time to develop, and are not, therefore, perceived as under threat.Conversely, when imagining the hypothetical scenario of their former stadia assuming a corporate brand name, Bolton and Manchester City fans alike indicated they would view this as a more direct threat to a historically accumulated sense of local embeddedness and spatially connected identity. This resonates with ideas regarding the importance of an individual’s “interactional past” with a physical site in the development of place attachment to it (Milligan, 1998 Milligan, Melinda. (1998). Interactional past and potential: The social construction of place attachment. Symbolic Interaction, 21(1), 1–33.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). As two Bolton fans explained: Bolton fan c: “I would have been totally disgusted. I don’t think I could have accepted that…” Bolton fan a: “It’s the history that comes with that. Like Burnden Park was, you know, years, 100 years of history that is there at that stadium, that’s always been Burnden.” Bolton fan c: “That’s Burnden and that’s where we are, who we are.” Bolton fan a: “Yeah, exactly, that’s like your identity embedded in the stadium.”Manchester City fans were equally certain in their imagined resistance to any corporate renaming of the former Maine Road stadium, where the team had played for 80 years, emphasizing how this would have disrupted a temporally and spatially accumulated sense of connection with the club: Yeah, I would have been a lot less happy if it had been Maine Road… because one of the things that makes football such, when we have this connection to it, is we can go back with those years and those links and so forth. And I think if you’d start interfering with that it weakens the whole relationship you’ve got with the club (Manchester City fan c).These narratives of imagined resistance arguably act as a form of psychological “repair and maintenance” work (Graham & Thrift, 2007 Graham, Stephen, & Thrift, Nigel. (2007). Out of order: Understanding repair and maintenance. Theory, Culture & Society, 24(3), 1–25.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), allowing fans to articulate a tough rhetoric of toponymic resistance that preserves a stability between signs and spatial order in a hypothetical sense. This presents them as loyal supporters with a sense of club heritage. At the same time, the imagined nature of such toponymic resistance allows room for fan discourses to acknowledge that, in reality, the corporate name of their new stadium (and any associated investment) is part of the modern game. Furthermore, it could disadvantage the club if these opportunities were rejected: I mean it’s a sign obviously of moving towards more modern times, isn’t it? It is a branded stadium. Obviously, that’s more money… Burnden Park was Burnden Park because of where it was. And I suppose there’s a lot of nostalgia around Burnden… I think it helps keep that era and obviously the memories alive there, but it’s a brand new stadium, modern, and it was kind of just keeping up with modernization of sponsorship of the stadium, which obviously other clubs are doing as well (Bolton fan a).Oldham Athletic have played at the same stadium for over a century, and as evidenced above, their fans articulated a “ferocious” protection and preservation of the original Boundary Park toponym in the face of its corporate replacement. This is perhaps the best evidence that the imagined resistance of Bolton and Manchester City fans to the renaming of their former Burnden Park and Maine Road stadia is not just idle talk.Organizational management of corporate toponymsIt is also instructive to consider the corporate (re)naming of football stadia from the perspective of club authorities. The critical toponymy literature highlights naming practices as manifestations of political power play, and hegemonic control by institutional authorities within urban space (e.g. Alderman, 2003 Alderman, Derek. (2003). Street names and the scaling of memory: The politics of commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr within the African American community. Area, 35(2), 163–173.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Rose-Redwood et al., 2010 Rose-Redwood, Reuben, Alderman, Derek, & Azaryahu, Maoz. (2010). Geographies of toponymic inscription: New directions in critical place-name studies. Progress in Human Geography, 34(4), 453–470.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Such practices may also face active citizen (or in our specific context, fan) resistance in the form of deliberate, counter-performative toponymic utterances (Rose-Redwood, 2008b Rose-Redwood, Reuben. (2008b). “Sixth Avenue is now a memory”: Regimes of spatial inscription and the performative limits of the official city-text. Political Geography, 27(8), 875–894.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), or a more passive inertia and habit through the continued use of historical toponyms by the local populace (Light & Young, 2014 Light, Duncan, & Young, Craig. (2014). Habit, memory, and the persistence of socialist-era street names in postsocialist Bucharest, Romania. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 104(3), 668–685.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).Previous work on institutional efforts to inscribe space with new toponyms has been largely based on archival work (e.g. Duminy, 2014 Duminy, James. (2014). Street renaming, symbolic capital, and resistance in Durban, South Africa. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 32(2), 310–328.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Rose-Redwood, 2008b Rose-Redwood, Reuben. (2008b). “Sixth Avenue is now a memory”: Regimes of spatial inscription and the performative limits of the official city-text. Political Geography, 27(8), 875–894.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Shoval, 2013 Shoval, Noam. (2013). Street-naming, tourism development and cultural conflict: The case of the Old City of Acre/Akko/Akka. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 38(4), 612–626.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Here, by contrast, the renaming of stadia was so recent and so fresh in the memory that club executives could be questioned directly on the matter. They were candid on the intent of such initiatives, emphasizing the importance of sponsorship and commercial investment (Buhler, 2006 Buhler, André. (2006). Professional football sponsorship in the English Premier League and the German Bundesliga (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Plymouth, Plymouth. [Google Scholar]; Emery & Weed, 2006 Emery, Ross, & Weed, Mike. (2006). Fighting for survival? The financial management of football clubs outside the ‘top flight’ in England. Managing Leisure, 11(1), 1–21.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), and that the views of fans were of limited consequence in determining the outcome of corporate (re)naming processes.One executive (anonymized) articulated his club’s approach quite simply, noting, “It’s whatever the deal the commercial team is able to strike that will come out on top.” Another advocated a slightly more flexible approach: I mean ultimately, because we’re obviously a private business, the decision was made by the Board at the time. But historically, we do have several focus groups with fans, just to get a flavor and stuff like that. But ultimately the final decision will boil down to the chairman. (Club executive – anonymized).This suggests that fans had been consulted. In this instance, however, it is implied that this amounted to a token gesture by the club to show that is was acting in a consultative manner, rather than out of a genuine desire to capture fans’ views.Embedding corporate names at the local levelDespite this rather bullish approach, club authorities were clearly aware of the potential for scalar tensions between corporate brands of international scope being used as stadium names, and the local connectedness of fan communities. They were, therefore, keen to highlight attempts to embed those brand names more effectively at a local level. At Manchester City, this has been facilitated through a purposeful strategy of widening the scope of inscription for the Etihad brand name into the regeneration of space and buildings around the stadium, and even a nearby tram stop (Figure 1): It wasn’t a standalone move… it became the Etihad Campus and the [Etihad] tram stop opened. And at the same time it became the Etihad Stadium (Manchester City executive).Scalar tensions in urban toponymic inscription: the corporate (re)naming of football stadiaAll authorsDominic Medway, Gary Warnaby, Leah Gillooly http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1320-2803 & Steve Millingtonhttps://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2018.1446585Published online:06 March 2018Figure 1. Sign denoting the name of the tram stop nearby the Etihad Stadium.Source: Authors’ image.Display full sizeFigure 1. Sign denoting the name of the tram stop nearby the Etihad Stadium.Source: Authors’ image.As Church and Penny (2013 Church, Andrew, & Penny, Simon. (2013). Power, space and the new stadium: The example of Arsenal Football Club. Sport in Society, 16(6), 819–834.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) indicate in their work on Arsenal Football Club, names that extend the reach of stadium institutions into surrounding spaces in this manner may also help to legitimize the process of public space management.In addition, the Etihad Campus also includes venues for all-year-round community activities and participation, enabling the Etihad name to become further engrained within the fabric of the local area: …building facilities on this site [are] kind of rooted more into the local wider community. And it’s not just a football ground at weekends and stuff, but a 7/365 destination (Manchester City executive).This shows how toponymic commodification can be more successful when there is a degree of “scalar sensitivity” in its introduction, embracing a spatial remit which involves integration of the corporate brand with community life, and in which the stadium itself is but one integrated element of a broader toponymic intervention within an urban district.Such an approach also represents a scalar inversion of the brand-place interrelationships identified by Pike (2011 Pike, Andy. (2011). Placing brands and branding: A socio-spatial biography of Newcastle Brown Ale. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, NS 36, 206-222. [Google Scholar]), using the example of the beer brand Newcastle Brown Ale. Here, connections to Newcastle, realized through incorporation of the toponym within the brand name, arguably act as a marketing platform for increasing the international sales of this consumer product, capitalizing on ideas of authenticity and local provenance. Thus, embeddedness within a particular locale is a promotable asset, leveraging inherent and existing connections, rather than something that needs to be nurtured, as is seen with Etihad and Manchester City. These issues aside, efforts to embed the Etihad brand at the local level appear to be appreciated by fans: The owners aren’t daft. They’ve picked that area and they can effectively do what they want. [The city of] Manchester’s glad of the investment; and quite rightly so… that investment is coming into Manchester… and it’s never going to be fast, but it’s regenerating the whole area. And that in turn will give a hinterland for City to be pulling in fans. It’s not just about renaming the stadium. It’s about almost renaming the whole area (Manchester City fan a).Unlike Etihad, Macron has not made significant investment and toponymic interventions in the landscape around Bolton Wanderers’ stadium, partly because the development opportunities for doing this are limited.Nevertheless, since 2014 the company has made a concerted effort to build relationships with the local fan base through community action and philanthropic intervention. This includes donating kits to local junior football clubs and clothing to the town’s homeless community at Christmas, as well as offering opportunities for fans to win Macron-related experiences, such as visits to the company’s factory in Italy. These efforts have also been positively received: Bolton fan b: “It’s things like that that get noticed, isn’t it? Makes them look good… it’ll make the fans happy that it’s not all take, take, take…” Bolton fan a: “It’s getting involved isn’t it, with the community…”At Oldham Athletic, there was no evidence of Sports Direct attempting to build such connections. On the one hand, this is surprising, as findings show that of the three clubs studied, Oldham Athletic was where scalar tensions arising from the imposition of a brand name on a stadium were felt most acutely by fans. Conversely, the lack of local engagement