Whilst the on-pitch results of a football team and its fi nancial performance are inextricably linked, commercialisation of a modern stadium is a controllable factor that can change the long-term dynamics of a club, and hence support the business in achieving sustainable future success. However, the role of commercialising a stadium as an asset for a club is often not well understood. Analysis of match day revenues of clubs across Europe paint a picture of dramatic contrasts, refl ecting the unrealised business opportunity for football clubs in many countries, for example Italy and France. It is therefore fundamentally important to think at an early stage of development which stadium management model and agreement fi ts the capabilities and risk taking profi le of the stadium owner.
The enhancement of traditional sources of operating revenues from new stadium development or the major renovation of an older venue is stimulated by an increase in the sale of season and match day tickets through better views, higher comfort and family stands. Simultaneously, a modern venue allows the exploitation of new and alternative key revenue drivers such as naming rights, hospitality areas, premium seats, catering, corporate events, stadium tours and museums.
Although the fi nancial success of a stadium development relies upon a large and loyal fan base which can guarantee stable cash fl ows, a robust business plan is a key foundation to a new stadium development or renovation programme. Therefore, during the business planning and feasibility assessment phase – besides legal, urban planning and site availability issues – market, fi nancing and operating aspects of the proposed stadium development should be carefully analysed. The ultimate goal of this task is to assess the overall feasibility of the project and to support the activities conducted by other professionals in subsequent phases such as, for example, the architects in the stadium design phase. The preliminary planning and feasibility phase will provide indeed a basis for the concept brief and the starting point for the design process.
Design for success
With the evolution of modern architectural design, stakeholders are able to achieve a venue of higher comfort, integrating innovative solutions such as retractable roof and temporary seating, allowing for multi- use functionality. More often stadiums
68 SHOWCASE management
National Stadium – Warsaw, Poland
Architects: gmp · von Gerkan, Marg and Partners / local JSK
Photo: Marcus Bredt
are built as iconic landmarks, defi ning city skylines with innovative design. Especially when integrated in mixed-use developments, they can play a key role in urban regeneration and the trend of stadiums returning to inner city areas is one that we might expect to see more of in the future.
Increasingly, stadiums are being built for mega events in countries and cities with undeveloped or developing domestic football markets, resulting in signifi cant legacy issues with, in some cases, drastically underutilised venues. There is a need to put an end to uncontrolled investments with little, if any, business rationale. The implementation of modular and temporary stadium construction is a way of, at least partially, adapting the stadium capacity to expected demand beyond the respective major event.
The importance to adopt environmental sustainability practices is globally recognised as a key element of stadium development, therefore implementing these practices during construction and in operation falls under the responsibility of all stakeholders.
In conclusion, although team performance, market and economic conditions will always remain critical, experience demonstrates that scenarios repeatedly arise in which state-of-the- art new build facilities assist football clubs to discover and activate latent demand. This can create additional revenue generating opportunities and serve as a platform for sustainable business growth.
Built between 2008 and 2011 for the UEFA EURO 2012, the 55,000-capacity Warsaw National Stadium is regarded as one of the most modern venues in Europe. The lightweight retractable roof construction can bear heavy snow loads, even when closed in the winter. Daylight shines through the translucent roof membrane almost unobstructed onto the stands. The inner roof, also made out of a membrane textile, can open or close in 15 minutes.
Two key elements to the success of new stadium development are a robust business plan, backed by detailed market analysis and creative thinking; and innovative design.
More information
If you would like to receive further information or to discuss the fi ndings of this study, please contact:
Andrea Sartori Partner, KPMG Sports Advisory Head of European Sports Network
t: +36 1 887 7215 e:
AndreaSartori@KPMG.com
Hubert Nienhoff Partner, gmp Architect Dipl.-Ing. Architect
t: +49 30 617 855 e:
berlin@gmp-architekten.de
To request a copy of A Blueprint for Successful Stadium Development, please e-mail:
SportsAdvisory@KPMG.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139