It’s not often that Stoke City is considered as a pioneer in the Premier League, but in this particular case, they are.

Beginning in the 2012-13 Premier League season, Stoke City will be the first club in the league to feature two rows of advertising signboards around the perimeter of the pitch. In recent years, we’ve seen advances such as electronic signboards that can flash, change and rotate advertising messages during a game, but this is a first in the EPL — after a successful test during Euro 2012.

Stoke City’s LED advertising will allow the club to generate more money from advertising by having the two rows on top of each other visible by TV viewers worldwide.

“This innovative move will give us a competitive edge in the marketplace and enable us to maximise the exposure that we enjoy worldwide as a Premier League club,” commented City’s Head of Commercial Andrew Billingham. “We are proud of the fact that we are the first Premier League club to offer this opportunity to our partners and it’s an important step forward at a time when the level of television coverage continues to rise at a remarkable rate.

According to Football Marketing, “The second row of LED will be used similarly to the recent Euro 2012 Finals out in Poland and Ukraine, artwork will remain static so as not to conflict with the messages which are being broadcast on the front row system.”

But I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until other Premier League clubs adopt the second row of LED advertising signboards. And eventually the second row will include motion instead of static advertisements.

What do you think of the development? Are you not bothered by it? Or is it something you think is a poor decision? Share your opinions in the comments section below.