A few weeks ago, Fulham unveiled plans to rebuild their Riverside stand. The images have been making the rounds on social media, with tantalizing projections of what Craven Cottage will become. The luckiest and most fortunate supporters will be able to enjoy a swimming pool and a large terrace during Cottagers matches. A Michelin-starred restaurant and very luxurious private lounges will be offered as part of the club’s hospitality offering from next season. With panoramic views of the Thames and the London skyline, Fulham managers want to offer a new experience to their fans and capitalize financially on new revenues. However, the Cottagers are far from being the only ones wanting to offer this kind of service in their stadium.
Stadiums, a new priority for European leaders!
In England, and still in London, the Emirates Stadium is at the forefront in this area. The stadium, so desired by Arsène Wenger in the 2000s, saw the light of day with the opening of a high-end lounge, the Diamond Club. Even further north, in Greater London, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, inaugurated in 2019, also focused on luxurious services. In addition to VIP lounges, the stadium has a contemporary art gallery. The English are no exception, new stadium constructions now rely heavily on exceptional services in Europe.
In Madrid, the Santiago Bernabéu has had a facelift with this spirit. The Real Madrid stadium, built at the end of the Second World War, has been completely renovated in recent years to become a new, very modern setting. In addition to its roof and retractable lawn, it is its new luxurious services that are also getting people talking. In the coming months, the Madrid club will inaugurate its Sky Bar, a super VIP box which will offer visitors a unique experience combining football, comfort and high gastronomy. The space will transform into a room for dining, drinking and dancing after the games. Services which tend to become widespread in new football venues to create new income.
Increase hospitality offerings to diversify revenues
In modern football, it has become essential to own your stadium. With current spending, linked to transfer costs and salaries, the football stadium is becoming a financial instrument. According to Jérémy Moulard, researcher in sports infrastructure management for the Institute of Sports Sciences at the University of Lausanne, “ to perform sportingly, the club must perform financially. Since 2006 in Europe (construction of German stadiums for the World Cup) and since the 1990s in the United States, the stadium has become an economic diversification tool for clubs. This makes it possible to enhance the resource of ticketing, hospitality, etc. This is the reason for the construction or renovation of new stadiums “.
“ We realize that cash flows (cash flows which measure the difference between receipts and disbursements), which are generated by hospitality, are the most important cash flows in a stadium with relatively significant margins. Today, to generate more money, there is a whole market for increasing places for services and hospitality. Previously, they were simply at one level for businesses. Now there are maybe 10, 15, 20 different hospitality offerings. We now have more and more hospitality at luxury and ultra-luxury levels “. Are European stadiums being transformed by this increase in hospitality services, to the point of seeing the emergence of a new generation of stadiums?
Towards a new generation of football stadium?
According to Magne’s classification in 2011, in his work Evolution of stadiums, towards the 6th generation, European football stadiums have entered a new era, that of commercial stadiums. Each generation has its own classification criteria: the 4th generation was that of television stadiums, marked by technological advances in materials; the 5th generation was that of securing the enclosures, following the dramas of Heysel, Hillsborough and Furiani in the 80s and 90s. This 5th generation in the 80s and 90s notably gave rise to the Stade de France. Since 2006, commercial stadiums have been built, thus characterizing a 6th generation of stadiums. With the introduction of ultra-luxury amenities in new construction, a new era of football stadiums is underway.
Jérémy Moulard confirms this trend by stating: “ we can imagine having entered a new generation of stadiums, at a 6+ level or a 2.0 generation. We are pushing the stadium economy to extremes. We first go through affordable seats at €10, up to ultra-luxury services. Previously, there was either the general public or businesses. Today we observe a great diversity of hospitality “. This extreme commodification of stadiums disturbs fans of popular football.
The criticism of a people of the lodges
Faced with this increase in hospitality offers and VIP seats, the most fervent supporters criticize this turn in the stadiums. Pierre Rondeau, sports economist, and Richard Bouigue, socialist deputy at the town hall of the 12th arrondissement of Paris, were interested in this subject a few years ago in their work Will football explode?. The two men speak of the emergence of a new category of spectators, the “ people of the lodges », or the influential people who occupy VIP boxes or special seats in stadiums. This phenomenon is developing in sport, but especially in European football. These people may include business executives, politicians, celebrities and other influential individuals who have privileged access to matches.
Usually, these men contribute to a form of gentrification of football, gradually ousting the working classes from the stadiums. The sports venue, increasingly luxurious, is no longer simply reduced to its primary role of offering a spectacle. The stadium is no longer just a place of entertainment, it has become a place of negotiation. Companies can invite their employees, as well as their most loyal customers and future collaborators. As reported by employees of the Parc des Princes lodges, it is not uncommon for these hospitality spaces to be the scene of financial discussions. Just as in the times of the Romans in the amphitheaters or in 19th century Paris inside its theaters and operas, the stadium also became a place of performance for the elites. A place to see and be seen, in increasingly luxurious settings.
