PBS' "Nightly Business Report" examined the floating of
English soccer clubs on the public market. Reuters' Keith
Hayes noted 500,000 people go to games each week, and "fans
put around 800 million dollars per year into the coffers of
these clubs through ticket sales, merchandising and
television fees." Collins Stewart Leisure Analyst Paul
Wedge: "The cost of running a football club, particularly
the players, will continue to rise as agents become smarter
and greedier, which has certainly been the case in America."
Hayes noted the cost of a "good" player can reach $30M, the
reconversion of "even a modest stadium" can reach $50M.
Hayes: "A number of clubs have gone public, some of them
repaying investors handsomely, sending shares soaring by
winning games. The fickle hand of sports fate has denied
many clubs' success on the field, plunging shares and
sending them into huge debt." One central London club, one
of the first to go public, now has sought bankruptcy
protection after poor performance over the past couple years
("Nightly Business Report," PBS, 1/24). Several Italian
soccer clubs are also looking to go public. Juventus of
Turin, the country's "biggest" club, has hired U.S.-based
Solomon Brothers, to "explore the possibility of a London
flotation" (Betts & Haverson, FINANCIAL TIMES, 1/25).
