How new stadiums impact a club’s future and spirit.

At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s Goal Line Bar, spectators continue to drink, socialize, and spend money. The difference between a quiet football field and a bustling stadium-based business is the social and commercial atmosphere. It exemplifies the famous “dwell time”.

Tottenham Hotspur earns an average of £4.8 million ($5.9 million) on matchdays, which contributes to the club’s growing revenue sources.
Spurs’ success has prompted rival teams, like Manchester United, Newcastle United and Manchester City, to contemplate moving or redeveloping in light of increasing financial regulations.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a must-see location for fans of English football and the Premier League. It blends commercialism, tradition, and architecture. It is noted for its size, modernism, and superb sightlines, which have transformed the way many people perceive football stadiums.

It is groundbreaking. But where to go, how to grow, and what will be lost? The growth or decline of stadiums raises complex considerations about logistics, costs, rewards, and the desire of fans for a better future.

How top 20 clubs made their money in 2022-23

Arsenal won four league titles and finished second five times in the previous 17 seasons. Highbury’s impact on The Arsenal cannot be quantified, although he had a significant part.

The league rankings would indicate that the transfer from Highbury was not warranted.
However, the number of people able to watch Arsenal has increased dramatically, and this has had a revolutionary economic impact. Arsenal’s turnover in 2005-06, their last year at Highbury, was £137 million. It cost £200 million in 2006-07, the first season at ‘the Emirates’, and £223 million the following season. Six weeks ago,

Arsenal revealed their numbers for the fiscal year ending May 2023, with “football revenue for the year” totaling £464 million. In July, Arsenal could afford to pay West Ham £100 million for Declan Rice.

Arsenal’s new stadium, set to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2026, is expected to be as influential as Tottenham’s. There are lessons on function, design, and finances.

According to Nigel Phillips of the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST), the club received planning clearance in 1999 for a design from the mid-1990s before moving in 2006. The Emirates Stadium’s architecture is over 30 years old and outdated in comparison to Spurs’ new stadium.

The Arsenal stadium project cost £450 million, with £260 million borrowed through project bonds and the remaining £190 million coming from commercial earnings.The stadium construction required spending money from future profits, leaving no commercial income to spend during the actual seasons.

Arsenal continued to qualify for the Champions League and earn cash, but in 2010-11, only five years after moving, Wenger expressed frustration with his spending ability, stating, “We can’t buy players for £50m, that is a fact.”
As the squad’s competitiveness plateaued, so did supporters’ perceptions of the team in its new surroundings. According to Phillips, on-field performance has a direct impact on fans’ perception of the new ground.

It’s something Cloake talks about Spurs. Cloake cites the stadium’s opening game against Crystal Palace in April 2019, where Son scored the first goal, as a key event in cementing enthusiasm for the new venue. Another happy moment came a week later, when Son was defeated in the Champions League.

“We played Everton before the Champions League final and there was this massive party going on,” he says. “Everyone was really delighted. Many people arrived at the stadium early to see their friends. “They spent their time and money at the stadium.

“The sightlines are excellent; you can see everything is going on, and it seems like a true football stadium. “The scale is fantastic, and we haven’t left Tottenham.”However, we immediately went into the (Jose) Mourinho and (Antonio) Conte period, when the football was some of the worst we’d seen. A narrative emerged that the stadium was nothing more than a money-making machine, with a bad environment that was inferior to the previous stadium.

Cheapest and most expensive standard adult season tickets at 2023-24 Premier League clubs

Mikel Arteta has been remarking for some time on Arsenal’s improved atmosphere, which is linked to the team’s success.
“I just had a person who I haven’t seen for a while,” Arteta remarked last season, “and it’s the first time he’s been at the stadium in two years. He describes it as the greatest he’s seen since his time at Highbury.

We should not forget that Highbury was designated a ‘library’, albeit the rhyme played a role.
The two North London grounds are key employers in the area. Tottenham will host Euro 2028 matches at its stadium, which also hosts concerts, NFL games, and a go-kart track. It everything need personnel.

However, Cloake also mentions the recent increase in ticket costs. Some supporters demonstrated with their backs turned throughout the Luton game. Chairman Daniel Levy earns £6.5 million annually.

Ticket pricing and availability are already a concern for Newcastle United season ticket holders. Five years ago, 23,000 people gathered at St James’ for a League Cup match against Leicester City. However, this was after years of aridity under Mike Ashley’s rule.
Today, with the Saudi Arabia acquisition, the question is how and where the club can handle audiences of 60,000 or more. Newcastle may need to relocate to expand due to its limited architectural space in St James’ Park.

Compared to 2019, it appears like the club is preaching to the converted, but this week the Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust finished a study in which 73% of respondents stated they preferred to remain at St. James’ “with renovations”.

Only 19% stated they wanted to transfer Heritage sells, which is clear given the overseas interest in English football. Newcastle United strives for worldwide success, but lacks the advantages of being based in London. Half an hour at Spurs’ club shop displays an infinite quantity of Korean supporters with high spend-per-head. Ange Postecoglou’s team also has a tiny Australian variety, with a kangaroo replacing the traditional Tottenham cockerel motif.

Newcastle and Tottenham are planning an end-of-season trip to Australia to promote their brand. However, the lack of direct flights from Newcastle airport to the US poses a challenge.

As Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrives at Old Trafford, he is concerned about infrastructure and costs. Manchester United initially seeks money for rehabilitation or new development, followed by designing and submitting a planning application. A spade may not be placed in the ground until 2028, 2029, or 2030.

How building costs have increased in the past 20 years

Arsenal’s demolition of the Ashburton Grove property has led to an increase in the cost of core materials over the past 20 years. According to estimates from the Building Costs Information Service (BCIS), in 2004, one cubic meter of ready-mix concrete cost

Average: £63. It was £98 in 2014, and it is now £136, representing a 40% rise in ten years.
Over the last decade, the price of a tonne of high-tensile steel bars has increased by 88%, from £333 in 2004 to £638 in 2014 and £1,200 in 2024. One tonne of structural steel cost £720 in 2004, £1,075 in 2014, and £1,706 in 2024, an increase of 130 percent in 20 years.

The cost of a new Old Trafford stadium is expected to exceed £1 billion, maybe even more, and the club is wary of debt. Real Madrid’s reconstruction of the Bernabeu stadium would not be paid off until 2053, implying that United’s obligations may extend into the 2060s.

According to Chris Rumfitt of the club’s Supporters’ Trust, Ratcliffe’s participation “means there’s a bit more trust—if it had been the Glazers proposing this, we wouldn’t trust them to do it right.”

The trust has a voice in the task group formed to address the next step. It held its first meeting last week. The trust conducted its own polls, focusing on supporters’ priorities rather than the move-or-stay issue.

“We thought the best place to start was with, ‘What do we want from the stadium?'” Rumfitt explains. “Once you work that out, it maybe leads to the conclusion of the million-dollar question.”The explanation is that people’s opinions are rather mixed. There is a strong desire to comprehend the alternatives and repercussions throughout the process. We have 55,000 season-ticket holders, so if capacity drops below that level during work, it would be a problem.