The Political Economy of Football V2

Stadium rebuilds and upgrades are all the rage in football right now. Big clubs are in an arms race to create venues that maximise revenue, from high rolling fans quaffing champagne in hospitality, curious tourists wanting to snap selfies in the team museum, or from music lovers willing to splash our to big name artists perform on the pitch. Small clubs want a piece too, in an effort to avoid being completely left behind. To do all this, some are appealing to central governments for funding — ostensibly to improve transport links and set up the area for long-term economic growth.    The Financial Times lays out the broad strokes of that debate in England in their  latest Big Read , which takes you on a tour around Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Transport is just one of the major hurdles these stadium projects face. Planning can be slow and cumbersome, especially as most existing venues sit in the middle of densely populated residential areas. J...

Everton’s new Bramley Dock stadium is to be named after legal eagles Hill Dickinson. Though it may now boast 11 offices worldwide, Hill Dickinson was founded in Liverpool back in 1810 — predating Everton by 68 years. Originally specialising in maritime law, it prospered on the city’s docks. Naming rights deals are nothing new. Six Premier League clubs have them, including Arsenal (The Emirates) and Manchester City (The Etihad). Tottenham Hotspur have been searching for a title partner since opening their new stadium in 2019. Internationally, some of the sport’s most iconic grounds have seen their names changed — from Barcelona’s Spotify Camp Nou to Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena. That is not to say they are always popular. Newcastle United fans were furious when former owner Mike Ashley branded St James’ Park as the Sports Direct Arena in 2011. Former England World Cup-winning head coach Clive Woodward accused the Rugby Football Union of “selling its soul” after the board rename...

Everton have announced law firm Hill Dickinson as the naming rights partner for their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.  The new 52,888 capacity venue — which will replace Goodison Park as the men’s team’s home from next season — will be known as the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Founded in 1810, Hill Dickinson is an international commercial law firm with 11 offices across the UK, Europe and Asia, the club say. Everton claim the agreement is “one of the largest stadium naming rights deals in Europe” but have not disclosed what the finances or the length of the agreement are. Craig Scott, Hill Dickinson CEO, said: “As Hill Dickinson continues to grow internationally, we remain proud of our Liverpool roots — and we are honoured to be part of one of the most exciting waterfront developments in Europe.”

Everton Football Club and its new American owners want to accelerate development around the Liverpool-based team’s new waterfront stadium, in a call to politicians and investors to help revive a neglected stretch of the city. With months to go until the Premier League side moves from Goodison Park, its home since 1892, to Bramley-Moore Dock, the latest addition to the north Liverpool skyline stands out in an area that has not kept pace. The stadium is the foundation of fans’ hopes for a brighter future under the Texas-headquartered Friedkin Group, which became the latest US company to buy into the top flight of English football last year. Marc Watts, Everton executive chair and Friedkin Group president, told the Financial Times it would be “such a shame” and a “missed opportunity” not to use the stadium as a “catalyst to lift up that whole area of the northern docks and the development of the whole Liverpool area”. Overlooking the river Mersey, the 52,888-capacity venue is cappe...

I recently saw an amusing video online in which a group of Everton fans were rebuked in jest for being hopeful.  Football fans in general tend to swing between excessive optimism and excessive pessimism, but for many it seems that moaning is in their bloodstream (Spurs fans probably take the trophy).  However, Everton fans have had plenty to moan about on and off the pitch.   Let’s hope that a new era is about to begin for this grand old club. Everton’s 2023/24 financial results covered a fairly momentous season, when they ended up 15th in the Premier League, though they would finished three places higher if they had not received an 8-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). It was a worrying time for Everton fans, as the club faced a “perfect storm” of issues, including large financial losses, an ever increasing debt burden, a challenging stadium build and the tortuous sale of the club. There were eve...

Everton’s new owner The Friedkin Group will begin the task of boosting commercial growth by looking to secure a lucrative naming rights deal for the club’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore dock. The 52,888 all-seater arena is to open at the start of next season and is seen as being transformative in supercharging Everton’s spending power after profitability and sustainability breaches. Everton estimate revenue will increase by £40million a year after the move from Goodison Park with supporters encouraged to use the new venue, which will boast numerous bars and restaurants, for all their match-going experiences. US custodians, The Friedkin Group [TFG], want to bolster that further by sealing a naming rights deal with a blue chip company. The original plan for Bramley-Moore was a £200 million agreement with USM, a company linked to the previous owner, Farhad Moshiri, and his ex-business partner Alisher Usmanov. However, those plans collapsed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Uk...

 The key debate around either refurbishing Old Trafford or building a state-of-the-art, 100,000-seat arena on a site adjacent to Manchester United's 114-year-old home continues. Some insiders believe Ratcliffe and his Ineos operation are leaning towards a brand new home, undaunted by the challenge it represents at a time when Ineos is also building the biggest petrochemical plant in Europe for 30 years. Ineos has had to raise close to £3billion to finance Project One in Antwerp, which is roughly a billion more than it will need to fund Old Trafford, even if it does go for the more expensive option. The plan, as things stand, is for the task force chaired by Lord Coe to return in the new year with a feasibility study. Their focus is on “the art of the possible”, with the task force exploring both options within the broader regeneration project. Assisting them at this stage are Foster & Partners, the British firm of architects already working on the £50million regeneration ...

The Friedkin Group (TFG) has already started to look at what life will be like at Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock next season. To be frank, TFG would not be interested in buying the Premier League side if they were not moving into a new, 53,000-seat venue but Everton’s waterfront property will only transform the club’s fortunes if their owner can really maximise its benefits. And that means turning it into an asset that is used every day, not once a fortnight. With that in mind, TFG is looking to increase the club’s footprint at the docklands site, most likely by buying the land around Nelson Dock, which is immediately to the south of Bramley-Moore Dock, to create more space for the type of entertainment and leisure offering any venue-operator must provide these days to make the sums add up. There are also whispers — and that is all they are at present — that TFG might want to increase the stadium’s capacity at some point, which will not be easy giv...

The US-based investment group 777 Partners says it has made a payment of around £16million towards Everton’s working capital amid fresh doubts over its ability to fully fund a takeover of the club.  The latest loan was paid on Tuesday, later than expected, and came as the company’s Australian budget airline abruptly ceased flying. In another development, Teneo, the UK advisers to 777 Partners, severed ties with the firm having gone without payment for work they had done. At the same time, it emerged that Teneo’s financial arm was advising Everton over the potential restructuring of debts due to the heavy burden it has incurred relating to the construction of a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. 777 Partners have loaned Everton almost £200million for working capital and costs for the new stadium.   Contractors Laing O’Rourke confirmed they had received their latest payment and currently have around 1,000 people on site, with the project on schedule to be handed over ...

The Financial Times this morning has run another in depth investigative report on the bidders for Everton FC, 777 Partners.   What I found particularly concerning  is that the Pink ‘Un had approached four of the entities mentioned in the report for comment and none had responded. Two of these were regulatory authorities, including one on Bermuda which is a hub of the reinsurance industry. I am not an expert on high finance, but the FT has a good record for investigative journalism in relation to this sometimes less than transparent world.    Everton have had enough blows and the problem is that there does not seem to be another credible bidder in the wings as work continues on the new Bramley Dock stadium.    Relegation is still a possibility. A Bermudian financial structure used by the Miami-based bidder for Everton Football Club to funnel money invested for widows and orphans into the sport has begun to unravel, according to the Pink ‘Un. 777 R...