Crystal Palace wants to become the “club of choice” for U.S. fans, and the Premier League club is “not too far away” from finishing in the top four of the league, CEO Phil Alexander said. Alexander is in his 20th year with the London club, which is looking to break out of the shadows of the London elite of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Crystal Palace appears to have established a foothold in the Premier League with three straight seasons in the top tier. The club is currently 12th. Off the pitch, Alexander’s tenure, which he calls an “interesting ride,” has crossed a succession of different owners and two plunges with administration. But the outlook today for Crystal Palace is a lot more positive: recent signings such as French playmaker Yohan Cabaye for £10M from PSG has helped the team beat Chelsea and Liverpool away this season; and in December the club agreed to sell a stake in the club to U.S. investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer.
AMERICAN BACKERS: Harris and Blitzer, who own the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, join Chair Steve Parish in controlling the club. The pair has pledged to invest millions in players, the academy and redevelopment of the club’s Selhurst Park stadium. “It gives us much more power,” said Alexander, a former American football player with the London Monarchs, who is attuned to the workings of U.S. sports. Despite being unsure how hands-on Harris and Blitzer will be, he is confident that fans will “see them at games.” While a clear financial fillip, the U.S. investors are unlikely to provide a bottomless pit of cash: Harris’s ownership of the 76ers, for instance, has seen the team harnessing youth as opposed to big-ticket signings. Perhaps with this in mind, plans for the redevelopment of Selhurst Park will include an array of naming-rights packages for the stadium and stands.
NAMING RIGHTS: There also appears to be a softening of stance on whether the Selhurst Park name could be ditched and replaced by a big name brand. In '13, then Crystal Palace co-Chair Stephen Browett said full naming rights was off the agenda amid speculation that the stadium was to be renamed the 12Bet Stadium as part of a deal with the betting company. Browett: “Selhurst Park will still be Selhurst, but with a facelift part-financed by this deal. It will be called Selhurst Park -- there may be a ‘sponsored by 12Bet’ tacked on afterwards.” However, Alexander said the club would now consider axing the Selhurst Park name altogether, provided it was the right deal. “I think we would consider all commercial opportunities and obviously that it would need to be taken with the round of our heritage, the fans' views, who the brand is," he said. "But we would consider all options. It would be a dereliction of duty for us not to explore all commercial opportunities. Whether we do that [axe the Selhurst Park name] at the end or not, I don’t know. It’s something we have to look at.”
ADDING SEATS: The average attendance at Selhurst Park is 24,000, but the stadium redevelopment will balloon its capacity to 40,000, a change that will not only help with ticket sales but also make the venue more appealing as a sponsorship proposition. Being London-located clearly helps attract players and casual fans, some certainly attracted by the club’s famed raucous matchday atmosphere, aided by the chanting of its ultras, the Homesdale Fanatics. The atmosphere was evidenced in NBC’s Behind the Badge documentary on the club, a warts and all behind the scenes program which has been largely well-received in the U.S., where the club is hoping to tour again this year. “We believe our point of difference is we are very close to the fan base," Alexander said. "The stadium atmosphere is very different. It's vibrant, it’s lively, contrasting to a number of the Premier League stadiums.” In the documentary, Crystal Palace Manager Alan Pardew talks about taking inspiration from the NFL Green Bay Packers and the success it achieved under Coach Vince Lombardi. Pardew said, “I look at us. We are a working class club. In the Premier League, the money is kind of evening out a little bit better. Maybe we can emulate Green Bay.”
NEW-FOUND RICHES: The dizzying amount of TV money in the Premier League has no doubt made the league more equitable, as have Financial Fair Play regulations, helping also-rans become challengers. Profits have swelled at the club from £3.5M to £23M since it came back into the Premier League in '13. “The levelling effect of those TV revenues is part of the reason why you are seeing clubs like Leicester, Palace, Watford and other clubs having more of a say in the top half of the table than perhaps you have in recent times," Alexander said. “I can see clubs like us being able to compete a bit better because of those central revenues. And if you can get your manager, your recruitment, your playing side right, there is every chance that you can make a good go of it and maybe one day end up in the Champions League.” While finishing so high up would be unchartered waters for Crystal Palace, Alexander said that powered by the new U.S. investment, it is a realistic goal. “It doesn’t take too much of a stretch to think that within five years you could be knocking on that fourth place to get into the Champions League,” he said.
John Reynolds is a writer in London.
