New fiscal formula drawn for Real Madrid

Image: Real Madrid

The President of the Spanish professional football club Real Madrid CF (Spain), Florentino Pérez, has drawn out a new financial formula for the top-flight.

The ‘archytele’ stated that Pérez has struck a deal with a US venture capital fund and as per the agreement, revenue will be generated from the added attractions which will be a part of the reconfigured home of Real – the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Real Madrid is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. Founded on March 6^th, 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn a white home kit since inception.

The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-largest stadium in Spain and third-largest home to a top-flight European club after the 99,354-capacity Camp Nou in Barcelona (Spain) and the 81,365-capacity Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, Germany.

The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is undergoing total transformation – complete spruce-up, a state-of-the-art look has been lent by adding a futuristic façade, retractable roof and premium facilities.

The ‘archytele’ further stated that Real Madrid expects to earn 400 million in exchange for transferring those commercial rights to the ‘private equity’ fund for couple of years.

The club has already inked an agreement with Legends, an American company founded by the Major League Baseball (MLB) team New York Yankees (US) and the National Football League (NFL) team Dallas Cowboys (US), to operate the renovated venue in a professional manner. The spruce-up works of Real’s home will end in late 2022 or early 2023.

Real Madrid and Legends signed an agreement in 2018 to review and “optimize business opportunities in the development of the Santiago Bernabéu 365 days a year, as well as creating innovative, profitable and fan-focused experiences”.

The main objective behind the total makeover of the Real’s home is to keep the cash registers jingling even on non-matchdays for which the stadium will have five restaurants overlooking the field of play, which will be in service every week, including matchdays, while it will also have a spectacular Sky Bar, halfway between a restaurant and a cocktail bar.

An in-house study carried out by Real Madrid revealed that ‘Real’ used the facility only for 29 days per season. For the remaining part of the year, the Bernabéu lies unutilized except for visits to the official store, the museum or the restaurants which were open prior to Spain getting throttled by COVID-19 with the rest of the world.

Pérez wants that the redecorated Santiago Bernabéu should generate revenue the whole year through by holding concerts or other major acts.

The impressive system of lawn maintenance transforms Real Madrid’s ground into an architectural jewel, as grass can be stored in a system of state-of-the-art trays that protect the pitch, while an artificial turf is placed in the stadium to offer the Bernabéu the opportunity to host other sporting events, congresses and concerts.
 

JP Morgan deal

In a latest development, ‘Reuters’ stated that the Spanish soccer club Real Madrid will increase the size of its structured finance deal with JP Morgan and Bank of America by 225 million euros ($255 million) to complete the renovation of its emblematic Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

The initial deal agreed in 2019 was worth 575 million euros and allowed the club to start transforming the stadium from a purely soccer venue into a 365-day-a-year event center and attraction.

The club later decided to expand the renovation, adding a state-of-the-art retractable hybrid pitch so that the central venue can be used for more purposes, generating additional revenue.

The ‘Reuters’ further stated that the project is expected to boost the club’s revenues from the Bernabéu operation alone to 400 million euros a year from 150 million euros now, according to a club source.

In a meeting with a group of club members on November 17^th, Real Madrid President Pérez said the cost of the new loan could be below 2 percent, a cheaper interest rate than in the initial operation.

Real Madrid has increased its revenues by seven times in the last decade, and they were nearly 800 million euros in 2019. The club closed 2020 with a surplus despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The club’s assembly is due to vote on the new deal on November 20^th. Real Madrid, which has created a wholly owned subsidiary to operate the renovated venue in a “professional” manner, would announce the deal on November 21^st.

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