The renovated enclosures to increase of 118 revenue of a match

Whether or not the France to obtain the Euro 2016, Nicolas Sarkozy has promised a total EUR 150 million for the renovation of the French Park football stadiums. Sportfive intends to demonstrate that these State subsidies are not anything other than an investment. "Fight for ideas that speak infrastructure inherently not cost-effective or socialization of costs and privatization of profits", summarizes Christophe Bouchet, Director General of Sportfive. Certainly, the leader of the Lagardère Group sports marketing agency pleads for his parish, Sportfive is engaged in several projects, including that of Lyon. But, on the other hand, many are those who, among the policy or the administration, do not understand that a modern stadium is a tool indispensable for professional clubs.

To support his demonstration, Sportfive commissioned an "independent" study by consultant Frédéric Bolotny, from the Centre of law and economics of the sport of Limoges, and a chartered accountant, Dominique Debreyer. It is a sample of 20 speakers subject to a project in construction or renovation projects for 2014, 13 League 1 and League 2 7. The conclusion is that taking assumptions low fill rates (75, for a capacity which would increase, on average, from 25,000 to 35,000 places), these new stages to generate, from the season 2014-2015, 78 million revenue fis-holds and social for the State. "The clubs and their employees will repay in two tax years the 150 million euros invested by the State under the Special Fund Euro 2016", note the authors.

The calculation is a little easy. Three quarters of the plotted revenues derive from the increase in payroll of clubs (salary and employer charges tax on income, EUR 68 million). The assumption is that clubs will use their new resources on the same keys of distribution that today ', i.e. that they will spend 65 of their "products" (the average of the last five seasons payroll) to pay their players (and their staff said administrative). "In history, the players always took their share of each additional euro won by the clubs", says Christophe Bouchet, who was President of Olympique de Marseille.

Limit the dependence

One wonders however whether the introduction of "financial fair play" at European level and the willingness of several Presidents to limit the mad growth of wages will not just change the destination of the additional revenue changes by the stages. From there to say that they will fall into the pockets of shareholders, there is a step that is will however cross, the clubs being mainly to the need to strengthen their own funds - losses accumulated for the 2008-2009 season are EUR 50 million.

The study does not also into account the payments made by social agencies to players, as health insurance or pension, even if it is true that they are minimal compared to the amount of wages. It is not fact reference to expenses generated by the stages for the State, as costs of police for example. The cost-benefit ratio for communities, which provide the largest share of public funding of the new enclosures, is not calculated.

Nevertheless, the survey shows that a stage to modern standards of commercial exploitation, both in terms of capacity on the hospitality (lodges and VIP tickets paid by corporations), allows to better balance the economic model of the clubs, and, therefore, to make them less dependent on the aid. The renovated enclosures to increase of 118 revenue of a match. For 20 examined clubs, this represents 183 million euros more per season, or 86 million for the ticketing and 97 million for the hospitality.

In the end, constructions and renovations to make it less "télédépendants" clubs, 56 to 46 bringing the share of TV rights in their budget. And study does not take into account annexes revenues related to the restoration, merchandising, or non-sporting events such as concerts.