Chelsea decision long overdue
Posted by Ed Thompson on Sunday, April 15, 2012
Chelsea decision long overdue 4 Oct 2011
Stamford Bridge have known for some time that they need to improve the income generated from their Stamford Bridge stadium. With a capacity of 42,000 and generating around £82m of match-day income each season, the stadium compares particularly poorly to Arsenal who are able to generated around £122m over the same period. Of course Arsenal have the benefit of a shiny new stadium and wisely decided to build extensive corporate facilities in a successful effort to maximise the income derived from every home game. Chelsea have spent nearly two years agonising over how to proceed with Stamford Bridge - they have been trying to sell stadium naming rights since November 2009 (the club admitted defeat in the summer in its protracted bid to raise £100m in a 10-year naming-rights deal). Now it looks like the club are about to take the decision it should have taken two years ago and start the drawn-out process of building a new stadium. Unfortunately, it will take several years for the club to reap the benefit of the increased match-day income and in the interim it is faced with the tough challenge of trying to reduce losses to just E45m over the 2011/12 and the 2012/13 seasons combined. Without the extra income a new stadium would provide and without the immediate prospect of an Etihad sized naming-rights deal, Chelsea may even fail the first FFP test.
Stamford Bridge have known for some time that they need to improve the income generated from their Stamford Bridge stadium. With a capacity of 42,000 and generating around £82m of match-day income each season, the stadium compares particularly poorly to Arsenal who are able to generated around £122m over the same period. Of course Arsenal have the benefit of a shiny new stadium and wisely decided to build extensive corporate facilities in a successful effort to maximise the income derived from every home game. Chelsea have spent nearly two years agonising over how to proceed with Stamford Bridge - they have been trying to sell stadium naming rights since November 2009 (the club admitted defeat in the summer in its protracted bid to raise £100m in a 10-year naming-rights deal). Now it looks like the club are about to take the decision it should have taken two years ago and start the drawn-out process of building a new stadium. Unfortunately, it will take several years for the club to reap the benefit of the increased match-day income and in the interim it is faced with the tough challenge of trying to reduce losses to just E45m over the 2011/12 and the 2012/13 seasons combined. Without the extra income a new stadium would provide and without the immediate prospect of an Etihad sized naming-rights deal, Chelsea may even fail the first FFP test.
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