Manchester City are investing in a new complex next to the Etihad Stadium (above), which will contribute to future revenues that are in line with the financial fair play Photo: Sportimage/Gary Oakley
Owners, investors, executives and some of Europe's biggest clubs came to Berlin this week to share in the riches of UEFA competitions starting in 2024 and hear sermons on how receive other income.
What they have learned will please some and chill the bones of others. The news from the United States is that there is a rise in the number of multi-purpose live event arenas that utilize a club's main asset — its stadium, which is often centrally located and easily accessible. They were told that the Covid lockdown had created an insatiable appetite for live events. Taylor Swift's latest tour earned $1 billion in ticket sales alone. Premium hospitality packages at the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas were selling for $50,000. Work hard and people will come.
The news was delivered by Tim Leiweke, best known as the US sports executive who brought David Beckham to Major League Soccer in 2007 and revitalized the league. His latest company develops or operates more than 300 sites in the US, as well as in Europe and beyond. The next one is currently being built next to the Etihad Stadium in collaboration with City Football Group (CFG) and will be the largest indoor arena in the country.
The £365 million project will, over the long term, be one that CFG hopes will make a significant contribution to the group's value. It is clear that CFG's income from ticket sales, merchandising and everything else will not directly benefit Manchester City's first team budget. Even so, when you have as much money as CFG, and there are rules that limit spending on player fees and salaries (which they know all too well), this kind of infrastructure investment is a good alternative.
The 23,500-seat arena next to the stadium, which is itself being expanded, will open next year. This looks like another part of CFG's plans for world domination. First a group of several clubs, now playing in several arenas. Harry Styles is an investor and will be one of the first to play the so-called 'Co-op Live' — the naming rights have been sold to the aforementioned company in a 15-year deal worth £100 million. Leiweke said ticket sales were strong.
He definitely grabbed the attention of the room. There was praise for Daniel Levy, who Leiweke said built the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium for much less than it would cost now, just four years after it opened. There was a strong sense that what was being built in the US was now of a size and scope that Europe could barely imagine, but even so it was racing to catch up.
Real Madrid invested 900 million euros. The Santiago Bernabeu stadium is currently being refurbished, giving it the same multi-functional features as Spurs. Milan are considering building a new stadium on the outskirts of the city with similar facilities. Inter Milan will be forced to move. Leiweke pushed his audience's buttons. Heritage sites. Venues that cannot be replicated in terms of location or traditions associated with them. All that was needed was an investment of hundreds of millions or billions of dollars.
Todd Boehly was in attendance and the future of Stamford Bridge is now, as always, a central issue for Chelsea's new owner. Fenway Sports Group has almost rebuilt Anfield into a fine football stadium, if not a multi-use venue, despite recent problems with their contractor. Everton continues to build a new stadium despite strict transfer restrictions.
Manchester United was a standout on this list. Unlike everyone else, they have the same advantage as City — a vast area on which a second ground could perhaps be placed. But they are nowhere to be found. Locked in an endless cycle of absorption that never happens, life passes them by. It was a disastrous week even by United standards. After Mason Greenwood left, Jadon Sancho rebelled. Then charges piled up against Anthony. Add to this accusations that the club paid tribute to a former women's team coach convicted of sexual assault.
In weeks like these, a new stadium, not to mention a dedicated new arena, and all the attendant financial and logistical issues must seem low on United's list. But the game moves quickly. Ferran Soriano, chief executive of CFG, worked the floor during the two days of the event in question, the European Club Association (ECA) General Assembly, and it paid off. He was elected to the main council of the ECA, the organization that effectively runs UEFA club competitions alongside UEFA.
At times like these, it seems like everyone in the room has forgotten that City had a 2020 Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned conviction by UEFA for serious financial impropriety and now faces a further 115 charges from the Premier League. How this will end, no one is ready to guess. These are the most serious charges the Premier League has ever brought against a member. However, in the face of this, Abu Dhabi is relentless. Another new CFG club, this time in Brazil. New arena. Place at the top table.
There were many Premier League executives and executives present at the ECA. Boeli, Levy, Vinay Venkatesham, Darren Eales, and Billy Hogan. From Celtic — Peter Lawwell, who was also elected to the ECA board. United chief executive Richard Arnold did not attend the event. He will have his reasons, but there was a time in the early years of the ECA when Peter Kenyon was United's chief executive and so was his successor David Gill.
As a man who builds stadiums and arenas and manages them, you can expect Lieweke to say that they are the key to success. Either way, it was an exciting vision of the future. US private equity fund Silver Lake, which owns 18 percent of CFG, has also invested in Lieweke venue development company Oak View Group. Those who can afford it, like City, appear to be rushing into the era of mixed-use venues. Others do the best they can with the space and opportunities they have. And there are those who do nothing at all.
Свежие комментарии