Kieran Maguire: Man City to land £10m+ deal after confirmed news
It is ‘critical’ that Man City maximise their stadium revenue in light of Uefa’s new financial sustainability rules.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about City’s £300million stadium plans.
Man City published a statement on their club website last Tuesday (18 April) confirming that they have submitted a planning application to Manchester City Council to expand their North Stand.
The Premier League champions plan to develop a ‘year-round entertainment and leisure destination at the Etihad Stadium’, which will increase the stadium’s capacity to over 60,000.
The plans include a new sky bar, stadium roof walk and a City Square fan zone with a capacity of 3,000 people.
The cost of the expansion is reported to be £300million, but City will hope to boost their revenue in light of Uefa’s new financial sustainability rules, which will cap clubs’ spending based on a percentage of their income.
Maguire praised City’s ‘grand’ strategy and emphasised the importance of monetising the stadium throughout the entire calendar year.
“Turning the Etihad Campus from a property that generates income 25-30 days a year into one which can generate income for over 300 days a year is critical in the environment of Uefa’s new financial sustainability rules,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“Man City will make higher revenues from the change and personally I expect this to be more than £10million per season because of the hospitality-based opportunities on offer.
“City do appear to have a grand strategy rather than just Lego building more seats here and there which ultimately does have a ceiling.
“By trying to expand the focus of the group’s income generation abilities, it brings a financial benefit and if they are to be capped by their revenue generation by Uefa it will help them stay competitive in future years.“
In other news, Man City to bank £10m windfall as Asian deal agreed