Tuesday, 5th November 2024
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120 billion → 180 billion won, transforming the country into a ‘successful’

Broadcasting rights are the primary source of money that supports the European soccer industry. Broadcasting rights make up 45% of Europe’s big clubs’ income. Sponsorship and stadium admission fees generate the remainder. Sponsorship accounts for 35% of all club revenues on average, with the remaining 15% coming from admission fees.

However, the broadcasting rights fees, which account for the largest portion, are distributed to each club through league-level contracts. Of course, in the case of big clubs with high popularity and good performance, the distribution of broadcasting rights fees is much larger than that of small and medium-sized clubs, but in general, the league’s reputation controls the revenue of broadcasting rights.

So European football big clubs are making all-out efforts to expand stadium admission fees, which account for a small portion of their recent income but are likely to change depending on their efforts.

Basically, big clubs with a large fan base are actively promoting the expansion of income that can occur in stadiums through efforts to increase stadium stands and diversify services to fans.

The English Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur F.C. saw the biggest benefit from this approach in recent years. Tottenham expanded its existing 36,000-capacity home stadium to 62,000 in April 2019. From 85 million euros in 2018 in fiscal year, Tottenham’s entrance income to the stadium increased to 125 million euros in 2023. In addition, the revenue generated from Club H, a space for VIP visitors who can taste the finest cuisine, played a significant role.

The revenue from stadiums has also increased, not related to soccer. At the stadium, American pop star Beyoncé performed for five days in 2023 and held two National Football League (NFL) matches. Given that European professional football clubs cannot hold even 30 football matches in a single season at the most, hosting such events has played an important role in boosting stadium revenue. With various non-football events taking place, the revenue from stadium advertisements naturally increased as well. Since the creation of the new stadium, advertising revenue has nearly doubled.

Real Madrid in Spain’s Primera Liga, which is settled in the UEFA Champions League final in the 2023-2024 season, made a big change in the stadium ahead of this season. Real Madrid has a retractable roof on its home stadium so that spectators can watch games or concerts in a comfortable environment despite bad weather. In particular, it was a meaningful attempt in that Real Madrid plans to more actively host concerts of profitable stars at its home stadium in the future. In fact, Taylor Swift’s concert will be held at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Real Madrid’s home stadium, on the 30th and 31st (Korea Sigin).

Real Madrid has also put in place safety measures to minimize damage to the grass, which is inevitable when such a large-scale performance or event is held at its home stadium. Before the performance, the ground grass at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium is divided into six pieces by an automatic system and is transferred to an underground storage facility. It provides an optimal environment for grass, providing light, temperature, and humidity.

It’s not just that. Real Madrid has expanded its club museum as well. It is expected that two million people will visit the museum annually. If this goal is met, the club is expected to earn 50 million euros in sales revenue from admission to the museum and souvenir sales. The amount is similar to what the mid- to low-ranking clubs in the Primera Liga earn from broadcasting fees per season.

Manchester City, which won its fourth consecutive league title for the first time in EPL history, is also scrambling to increase stadium income. Currently, Manchester City has planned to install 7,000 new seats at the 53,400-seat Etihad Stadium. In addition, a hotel and a club museum will be built around the stadium, and a 23,500-seat Co-Off Live Arena will also be built to host large concerts.

Roel de Vries, CEO of the City Football Group (CFG), which owns the Manchester City club, announced the plan earlier this year and stressed, “In order to exist as a competitive club on the global soccer stage, it is imperative to expand stadium income.”

The strategy of European football’s big clubs to increase stadium income actually stems from the way the U.S. professional sports clubs do business in the stadium. U.S. professional sports clubs have long focused on how to generate more income not only on the day of the game, but also on the day when the game is not played.

The competition between European soccer big clubs to make a stadium that is used as a soccer field a complex space for entertainment and commercial facilities for only 25 to 30 days a year is expected to be an important criterion for assessing the industrial landscape of European soccer in the future.메이저 토토사이트