Originally posted on April 25, 2013 on Soccer Newsday
Italia 90 was a celebration of soccer for Italians. And while the games played on the pitch may have left much to be desired, it was a tournament that was a turning point for many reasons.
The 1990 World Cup had the lowest goals-per-game of any other WC competition at a paltry 2.21 gpg, which still stands to this date.
And due to the defensive tactics that were on display, new rules were introduced to combat these tactics. The “pass back” rule was eliminated, and teams were awarded 3 points for a win in the group stage of the following World Cup.
There were also a record number of red cards that were issued during the tournament, including a first ever red card in the final to Argentina’s Pedro Monzon, with his teammate Gustavo Dezotti. At the time, it was the most watched World Cup in history, and is still one of the most watched sporting events in history. It had an estimated 16.69 billion viewers over the course of the tournament. This was also the first tournament to be recorded in Hi Definition.
In preparation for the tournament, the Italian government and local municipalities spent an enormous sum of money renovating and building stadiums. Newly built were the Stadio San Nicola in Bari and the Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin. Extensive renovations were completed to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, San Siro in Milan, Genoa’s Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Stadio Comunale in Florence, and Napoli’s Stadio San Paolo. The Stadio Friuli in Udine required the least amount of work, as it was the newest stadium, having been built only 14 years prior.
In all, an estimated €1 billion was spent by all levels of government, which was more than 80% higher than the original budgets. Since the government, as well as the Comitatio Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (CONI, or the Italian National Olympic Committee), was providing the funding, many of the stadiums came with requirements. Both the newly built stadiums in Turin and Bari were required to have running tracks built around the field so they could be used for other events. As many soccer fans are well-aware of by now, running tracks push the fans too far back, and give poor sightlines for the spectators.
The problem with these investments is that they came just before a renaissance in stadium design. In the 1980’s and prior, amenities such as restaurants, luxury boxes and team stores were not things that you would have expected or required in a soccer stadium. But in the 1990’s, these amenities were becoming more and more common, leading to additional revenue streams for teams.
Italian municipalities are now reluctant to push through plans of new stadiums, even ones that would be completely owned and financed by teams themselves. This would leave the cities with tenantless venues, but still require the maintenance costs associated with the stadiums.
Unfortunately, this has become a political “hot potato.” Currently, the laws in Italy state that construction of new stadiums can only be started 8 years after filing an application. But a new law is being proposed that may eliminate the bureaucracy. Although in typical Italian style, the law itself seems to be stuck in an endless bureaucratic cycle. The law was first drafted in October 2009 to non-financially aid the clubs, but it appears that this law will not be passed.
With the municipal governments having spent an incredible sum of money, and some municipalities still paying off the debt of these new and refurbished stadiums, there is very little appetite for them to build new venues with all the latest luxuries.
Serie A is unique in its stadium ownership, as all teams play in stadiums that they do not own – the exception being Juventus, which opened its stadium in August 2011. This means that clubs have almost no power to decide how the stadiums are to be used.
Juventus was fortunate to convince the local authorizes to sell the stadium and land of the Delle Alpi at a reasonable cost, and allow Juventus to build a stadium that it owns. By owning its own stadiums, all profits that are generated are kept by the club, including any commercial retail, restaurants, cafés and stadium tours, as well as the always lucrative corporate private boxes and stadium naming rights.
With the increase of the quality of television broadcasts, and the poor quality of the stadiums, insufficient sightlines in many of the stadiums and lack of amenities that fans are now expecting, there has been a general decline in attendance in Serie A stadiums, which has led to a decline in overall matchday revenues.
While some of this has to do with the atmosphere in the stadiums, including violence and racism in some venues, much of the reason people will stay away is the poor quality of the stadiums. Lack of seats, exposure to the elements and no quality refreshments are only some of the reasons why people would rather watch the games in the comfort of their homes, sitting on a the couch in front of big screen HDTV televisions, while eating a nice prosciutto sandwich.
After Juventus’ loss to Bayern in the Champions League, team General Director Giuseppe Marotta voiced his concerns about the lack of money that comes into the Italian teams.
“We have clubs like Bayern, who double the revenue of Italian sides such as AC Milan, Inter Milan or Juventus,” he said. “They can buy one player for €40 million, while Italian clubs need to buy 3 or 4 players to justify that sort of money. Juventus are starting on that road with a new stadium, but the other Serie A clubs still have that handicap.”
Currently, Italian clubs rely mostly on the income they generate from TV rights, with matchday revenues making up the smallest percentage of any of the “Big 5” European Leagues. The last two Deloitte Football Money League breaks down how the top 5 Serie A clubs generate their revenue.
From this report, it can be seen that most of the clubs earn greater than 50% of their annual revenues from their broadcast deals, whereas they hover around 15% for matchday revenue. As a comparison, Chelsea generated 3 times the matchday revenue of Milan, despite Stamford Bridge having about half of the capacity of the San Siro.
Juventus, on the other hand, saw its gameday revenue almost triple, even though it played fewer home games than the previous season, mainly due to the new stadium.
In the 2012 report, Milan and Inter had the lowest matchday revenues of any of the teams in the Top 10, and a common theme in both reports is how important it is for the Italian teams to redevelop their stadiums to increase their revenues.
As a comparison, the Top 5 teams from the 2012 report earn the following from their matchday revenue, including their percentage of total revenue; Real Madrid €126.6 million (25%), Barcelona €116.3 million (24%), Manchester United €122 million (31%), Bayern Munich €85.4 million (23%), and Chelsea €961 million (30%).
With attendance dropping, seeing stadiums at half capacity (or worse) give a very bad impression, both to fans in the stadium, and those watching on television. Fans are reluctant to go to old, worn stadiums, when they can watch their favourite teams from the comfort of their home.
However, building new stadiums will help in a number of ways. It can invigorate a fan base to come back to the stadium, and can clearly be seen in the case of Juventus. With tickets that are appropriately priced, fans will spend additional money on merchandise, food and other services that are available at the stadiums, which the clubs will reap the benefit of. Italians soccer needs these increased revenues, if it wants to improve its reputation as a top European League.
Recently Opened
Juventus Stadium – The new stadium seats 41,000, and includes new restaurants, a shopping mall called Area12, and a museum about the history of the club. In addition, stadium tours that include access to the dressing rooms and players tunnel are also available. These new amenities provide several new revenue sources for the club.
Approved New Stadium
Udinese – The Friulano club has secured a 99-year lease on the Stadio Friuli for the low cost of just €45,000 per year, basically free, plus a commitment on structural upgrades. The club has proposed a new stadium that will provide covered seats, heating during the winter, restaurants, 2 new “Jumbotron” screens and Wi-Fi access throughout the stadium. The stadium will be built in phases, in order to allow the stadium to be used, as construction will take place during the seasons, but at a reduced capacity. The rebuilt stadium is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.
Potential New Stadiums
Roma – Since new American owners took over, a main concern has been the development of a new club-owned stadium. Roma have announced its plans for a 55-60,000 seat stadium, and have selected a location for the stadium to be built. Roma expects the stadium to be ready for the start of the 2016 season, however it doesn’t have all of the approvals to build the stadium.
Inter – A proposal has been put forward for a 60,000 seat stadium, with the assistance of new Chinese investors. The expected completion date of the stadium is 2016, however a location has not yet been selected, and all the approvals have not been put in place.
Sampdoria – In recent days, the Genoa squad have presented its plans to build a new stadium near the seafront. The biggest hurdle at the point may be the cost, as the stadium is currently estimated at €200 million, and neither the club nor the city have those kinds of funds.
Palermo – Maurizio Zamparini has been trying to get a new stadium built in Palermo for some time, and he has currently proposed a 35,000 seat Stadio di Palermo. There is not currently a scheduled construction start date for the project.
Calgliari – Originally presented in mid 2011, the new 23,000 seat stadium is currently delayed, and there is currently no scheduled construction start date.
Of course, some stadiums have renovations on the way. For a full look, view Stadia Postcards.
As it can be seen, teams are facing a major issues when it comes to stadium design and renovation. Most importantly, the process needs to begin sooner rather than later, as Serie A has already begun to fall off in comparison to the Premier League, Bundiesliga and La Liga. Reform can certainly start with the stadiums.
(Special thanks to The Stadium Guide. If you’re interesting in stadium information, this site is loaded with info.)
