The morning after the Arsenal game I drove past the new Valencia stadium...which remains far from completed, despite work having started 15 years ago. The original 80,000 capacity is now to be below 60,000, if it ever gets completed...a salutary tale for the likes of Everton. New stadiums cost a **** of a lot of money and for a club that hasn't made a profit in decades, the question remains... ...where the **** are they going to get the money from?
They don't have legit funding, nor the means to get their hands on it. They're goin g to really struggle to meet the new financial regulations without getting themselves relegated. The council was originally to be involved in the funding in a scouse version of the 'Stratford White Elephant' but with the fall of the dodgy council leadership, I don't see that being revisited. Usmanov is going to be persona non-grata until he croaks, so using his money is unlikely too. Moshiri could fund/guarantee it, but given he's ploughed a ****ing fortune in so far, to no good purpose, so I'd wonder at the sense of it.
That or they’re trying to do something really complex. It’s long been rumoured about courting an NFL franchise to move to London, so whether that’s an expansion team (more unlikely) or an existing franchise, you’d imagine we’re not only trying to tie up an NFL-related US sponsor but are also working out whatever negotiation needs to be done with the franchise and the league. I’m not saying it’s definitely that but you’d think they’re trying for big-ticket deals that also include a guarantee of use for the stadium for things other than football, to bring in even more money. Could be concerts, other sports, that kind of thing. If they just wanted a name on a billboard I’m sure they could have tied something up ages ago.
I’m a Wigan follower so it was great to be there today, thousands of Wigan fans, not so many from Huddersfield. levy will be well pleased with the bar takings, I overheard one woman say to her partner, do you realise that your 9th pint today. This was at 2pm ? Last minute try to win it for Wigan, made it good especially as Huddersfield had largely dominated.
It's raining. WTF? Guns n Roses are playing on Friday and Saturday, so perhaps it's some sort of buildup to that?
Rumours starting that Springsteen will be booking the stadium for some gigs in the summer of '23. For those artists who give a **** about the audience's experience, above and beyond cramming in the most punters possible, it should be the ONLY choice.
Meanwhile, the Ricoh Arena can proudly claim that they don't have any flammable cladding How? Well...