Fans of EPL club Chelsea are “preparing to mobilise against the club’s proposal to buy back the land underneath Stamford Bridge, a move that would give them the freedom to leave the ground that has been their home for 106 years,” according to Matt Hughes of the LONDON TIMES. A range of fans groups such as the Chelsea Supporters Club, the Chelsea Supporters Group and CFC UK are “planning a meeting for Monday to organise their tactics before the vote of Chelsea Pitch Owners PLC (CPO) shareholders on October 27.” The three CPO Directors “would not comment on the buy-back offer yesterday, but others among the 12,000 shareholders expressed their opposition to the scheme.” CPO has been offered $13M (all figures U.S.) and “privileges at a future new stadium, such as preferential treatment for season tickets and having their names carved into a wall of honour, in return for selling back the pitch and stands they bought from the club in 1997.” Chelsea’s proposal contains “no guarantees over the location of a stadium beyond 2020, up to which point they have pledged to stay within three miles of Stamford Bridge.” Chelsea execs are “not actively searching for a new stadium site at present, but have considered four sites within their target area in the past few years” (LONDON TIMES, 10/5).
WHAT'S IN A NAME? EPL club Manchester City will pay $2.6M a year “to their local council in return for control of the naming rights" to their stadium. The agreement allows Man City to “conclude their 10-year deal with Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways, for an estimated [$46.7M] a year, which includes naming rights to the stadium, the proposed 80-acre training ‘campus’ alongside it, and City's shirts.” Conn notes the city council “still owns the stadium.” The overall rent paid by Man City will now increase to $5M a year, and the council in return “released its control of naming rights” (GUARDIAN, 10/5).
REVERSE COURSE: Wolverhampton CEO Jez Moxey said that the EPL club “would have to reconsider part of its [$53M] Molineux transformation plans following a landmark European Court ruling allowing pubs to screen live games on foreign channels.” Yesterday’s judgment “may put the brakes on a proposed alteration of the Steve Bull Stand, which would see the number of seats in the stadium increase to 34,500.” Moxey’s comments come “after he revealed pubs illegally showing Wolves games on TV before yesterday’s ruling had led to a 2,500 drop in average attendance” (Wolverhampton EXPRESS & STAR, 10/5).
ON THE PITCH: FA Chair David Bernstein said that Wembley Stadium will “financially break even by 2015, one year later than previously planned.” Bernstein: "Wembley is doing very well, it has been extremely profitable." He added that the “rebuilt stadium was showing an annual operating profit of between” $53M and $67M. He said that he expected the stadium “to start pumping cash into the game by 2015” (BBC.co.uk, 10/5).
