In the midst of the last century the only way in which clubs made money from football was in the playing of games, and the occasional sellling on of players at a profit.
But of course all that has changed and the business of football these days is one of money from multiple sources. Indeed so much so that income from fans through the gate and season tickets along with a small amount of income from programmes and advertising therein (and around the ground), there is now a mulitplicity of sources for clubs. Sponsored shirts, conferences held at the ground, sponsorship, pre- and post-season tours and the like. How well they do with each area of sales can have a profound effect on the overall profitability of the club.
Additionally good publicity can enhance the good image of the club which if handled in the right way can enhance subsequent sales of other sponsorship activitis thus meaning that each avenue of sponsorship feeds money to the club and presumably leads ot lower debts and more transfers.
Indeed there has even been an attempt in some grounds to raise the standard of the catering within the grounds – something that has taken a long time to achieve but in some places is slowly getting there.
Then of course we have the use of the ground when there is no football going on, including tours around the ground including into parts of the ground one would not normally get access to.
Part of this move comes from the fact that the media wants stories that are related to today, and if a club can be presented as being part of today’s story in terms of innovation, whether that is about football or anything else that can be very much to the good. Such stories even run to reports on the pitch to the Arsenal stadium, and reports of innovative ways of improving its qualilty.
In days past we talked of Mancheseter United having the biggest turnover but these days they have slipped and are now down in fourth with a turnover over £30 million a year below that of Liverpool. Then comes Tottenham on £565 million, so around £130 million below Arsenal, while I believe they expected in their initial projections by this time I(following the new stadium build) to be above Arsenal. Chelsea are next on £491 million.
Obviously these figures to a certain degree reflect the position of the club in the league each season, but a lot also relates to the feel of the club in their area, for these days clubs can keep up their numbers as much by association with the area as by current success.
But there is a bit of a problem lurking in the shadows, since the methods of increasing funding (raising prices, expanding grounds, developing new stadia, larger European trournaments and growing the commercial arms of the clubs), as well well as the rise in popularity of English football on TV in foreign countries, have all been exploited dramatically, and there is something of a feeling that there are few new big ideas left to exploit. There is after all a limit to how many new ventures that can be introduced each season, just as there is a limit as to how much prices can be increased.
Plus there is a strong feeling in the media that they have been exploited as far as they can be pushed. Meanwhile any attempt by sponsors and the like to influence how broadcast and print reporters consider the game in their match reviews is very strongly rebutted. And negative reporting of a dull match, disputes, financial problems and the like has an impact on all of league football, not just one club. In reply clubs look for income from non-traditional sources, but even so there is a limit.
So for every good story about finance, like Emirates extending their sponsorship of Arsenal two years before the old deal ended, is triumphed by the club not just to tell the fans all is ok, but also to say to secondary sponsors, “see how much our club is valued by those already with us”
One area that is avaialble for expansion, it is felt, is women’s football, and the women’s success in the Champions League has obviously helped along with the men’s victory in the Premier League.
But running a successful club is getting ever more expensive because Arsenal are in competition with clubs such as Manhcester City and, PSG for whom the normal ebbs and flows of financial management do not apply, and until football gets to grips with that, the pressure to find more and more cash will continue.
