Stadium Industry Updates 11 April 2023
Renovation plans for Malaga CF stadium
La Rosaleda
The Malaga City Council, the Malaga Provincial Council and the Regional Government of Andalucía have detailed plans for a reimagined La Rosaleda as the stadium looks to be included in Spain’s joint bid with Portugal and Morocco to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup. The three bodies are the joint owners of the stadium, which serves as the home of Segunda División club Málaga CF. Plans to redevelop the stadium were presented by architecture firm Morph last week. According to reports, the revamp of the stadium would cost more than €70m.
Read more at: https://www.surinenglish.com/sport/malaga-cf/malaga-club-want-20220218092159-ntvo.html
Everton FC stadium investment weighing heavy on financial results
Credits: MEIS architects
Premier League football club Everton posted a loss of £44.7m (€50.8m/$55.2m) for the 2021-22 season despite generating a turnover of £181m, with work on its new stadium a major contributing factor. The loss represents a significant reduction on the £120.9m loss posted in 2020-21, but means that Everton has now posted combined losses of more than £300m over the past three years.
Read more at: https://www.planetsport.com/soccer/news/everton-post-another-financial-loss-fifth-successive-year
Birmingham City update on renovation and Safe Standing plans
St. Andrews Stadium
English Championship football club Birmingham City has confirmed plans to introduce safe standing at St. Andrew’s and announced that repair work in the lower sections of the Kop and Tilton Road stands is scheduled for completion during the 2023-24 season. The club used the World Cup break in November and December to carry out some repair work, including the removal of all pre-cast concrete units from the affected stands to expose the areas underneath. The remaining work is set to be completed during the summer.
Read more at: https://www.bcfc.com/news/all/st-andrews-stadium-update
Women’s EURO 2025 tournament to be hosted by Switzerland
St. Jakob Park
UEFA, football’s European governing body, has announced that Switzerland will host the Women’s Euro 2025. Switzerland has been selected ahead of a joint bid from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, as well as separate proposals from France and Poland. The 16-team tournament will be held over four weeks in June and July at stadiums in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St. Gallen, Sion, Lucerne and Thun. The Swiss Football Association (SFV) said it will use existing venues, with only the pitches in Thun and Bern to require modification.
Read more at: https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/0280-17b26e745ca2-eedf82e9e703-1000--switzerland-to-host-uefa-women-s-euro-2025/
Lincoln City FC confirms introduction of Safe Standing
Lincoln City FC
Lincoln City has become the latest English football club to confirm the introduction of safe standing to its stadium. Following further consultation with safety authorities, the League One outfit has confirmed plans for the introduction of a safe standing section at the LNER Stadium. Phase one will be to install independent barriers in the whole of block Upper 7 of the GBM Stand. Whereas a rail seat is a manufactured product which incorporates a seat and a barrier together, independent barriers are a separate installation from the seat itself, and Lincoln said it has worked closely with a number of other clubs where barriers have already been successfully installed.
Read more at: https://www.weareimps.com/news/2023/april/safe-standing-plans-confirmed/
Lusail stadium not part of hosting venues for Asian Cup 2023
Lusail Stadium
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed the dates and venues for Qatar’s staging of the 2023 Asian Cup, with Lusail Stadium missing from the six 2022 FIFA World Cup stadia chosen for the showpiece tournament. The AFC and Local Organising Committee have chosen eight stadia in total for the national team event, six of which were venues for the World Cup, namely: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Education City Stadium and Khalifa International Stadium.
Lusail Stadium, the centrepiece of Qatar 2022, has not been included, along with Stadium 974, the venue which is due to be dismantled following last year’s World Cup.
Read more at: https://www.thestadiumbusiness.com/2023/04/05/lusail-stadium-absent-as-venues-named-for-qatars-asian-cup/
DFL Revenues on the rise
DFL
The German Football League (DFL) has announced that total revenue of clubs in the top two divisions increased to €4.48bn during the 2021-22 season, with matchday revenue standing at €402m. The total revenue figure increased for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 but still remained well below the record levels of pre-pandemic. The €4.48bn figure represents an increase of 10.5% compared to the 2020-21 campaign but is still less than the €4.8bn posted in 2018-19 – the last season unaffected by the pandemic.
Wembley Stadium to host All Elite Wrestling event
Wembley Stadium
The All Elite Wrestling promotion has announced plans for its biggest ever event at London’s Wembley Stadium on August 27. The show, entitled AEW: All In London at Wembley Stadium, will mark AEW’s first event outside of North America and the first time that Wembley has staged a professional wrestling event in more than 30 years. Tickets for the show go on sale to the general public on May 5, with fans in the UK able to pre-register for early access via Ticketmaster.
Read more at: https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-event/aew%3A-all-in-london-at-wembley-stadium
Real Madrid CF chooses Rhenac for Santiago Bernabeu
Credits: Rhenac
Rhenac Sports LEDS is manufacturing a unique system for the natural grass growth lighting in the underground greenhouse of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The revolutionary Complete Light Spectrum (CLS) variable spectrum technology will be used, which is the most advanced lighting technology to guarantee the perfect state of conservation of the natural grass. The lighting system will consist of 6,300 variable spectrum LED luminaires, with a total of just over 750,000 LEDs, which will be powered by electronic power and control equipment to individually adjust the luminous intensity of the 5 spectral curves corresponding to the colours ultraviolet, blue, white, red and far red (or infrared). With this control system, pre-programmed lighting adjustments can be applied, or individual adjustments can be made per area for more optimised control according to the particular needs of the turf.
Read more at: https://rhenacsportsled.com/en/news/article/real-madrid-chooses-rhenac-cls-lighting
English FA looking for Senior Crowd Safety Manager to join the team!
The english FA is looking for an experienced Crowd Safety Manager for a 12 month fixed term contract to manage the development and implementation of the Crowd Safety strategy for all Wembley Stadium events and through strong leadership and relationships with key partners & stakeholders, deliver the highest possible standards in safety planning and an exceptional event experience for fans, Club Wembley members and Event Owners.
Read all about the vacancy at: https://careers.thefa.com/jobs/vacancy/senior-crowd-safety-manager-wembley-stadium---12-month-ftc-wnsl0593-wembley-stadium/1605/description/