Action Replay – No standing room
Filbert Street, Upton Park, Highbury, Burnden Park, White Hart Lane, Ninian Park: these are just some of the well-known and long-standing football stadiums that have been replaced in recent times by larger and swisher venues. The change to all-seater stadiums was one factor behind the desire by club owners to cash in on higher prices, improved facilities and additional uses. The new grounds can be very expensive, but maintaining elderly stadiums can be pricey too. Profit and Sustainability Rules are also an incentive to increase gate receipts.
It’s not just football, with suggestions that the Twickenham rugby stadium could be used to host music concerts, so boosting Rugby Football Union finances. But this would require a change of heart from the local council, which would have to issue a licence and is not keen on the idea, presumably because of the disruption it could cause.
The building of new stadiums is still ongoing. Everton’s new ground will host matches from next season, though this has led to UNESCO removing Liverpool’s status as a World Heritage Site, owing to the changes at the city’s waterfront. In addition, some clubs intend to make major changes to their current grounds, such as Bournemouth, who intend to double their current capacity of a mere eleven thousand, and Leeds United have plans to add fifteen thousand to the capacity of Elland Road.
But probably the biggest proposal is from Manchester United. Old Trafford holds 73,000 spectators, and is the largest club ground in the UK. But it is in some disrepair, with water cascading onto some seats. The intention is to build a new ground nearby, with a capacity of a hundred thousand, the cost of which is likely to be £2bn. This from a club which, under its wealthy capitalist part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, recently sacked a large number of admin staff and withdrew its £40,000 annual donation to a charity that supports United players from before the days of massive wages, who are struggling financially.
And building new grounds doesn’t always work out. In 1999, Darlington FC were bought by George Reynolds, who financed the building of the George Reynolds Arena (of course) at a cost of £18m and seating 25,000. But attendances never approached that, Reynolds was imprisoned for tax evasion, and the club then experienced various changes of owners and went into administration, before being expelled from the Football Association, with a new ‘phoenix’ club being founded. They now play in the National League North (the sixth level of English football) and share a ground with the local rugby union club. The renamed Darlington Arena hosts rugby league games and music concerts.
So, like many capitalist ventures and attempts at expansion, new stadiums don’t always give a good return.
PB