Aston Villa are looking to follow the example of the likes of Bayern Munich with their latest money-making scheme.
Next season will be a particularly lucrative one for Villa. In addition to qualification for the Champions League, they have also signed two new £20m-a-year sponsorship deals with Adidas and Betano.
They followed that up this week with the announcement that they had renewed their partnership with sleeve sponsor Trade Nation. That deal will likely be worth double the existing arrangement.
Commercial revenue is crucial to Villa, who are limited to living within their means because of the parameters of FFP (now called Profit and Sustainability Rules, or PSR).
As well as commercial revenue, clubs are targeting capital investment projects – stadium upgrades, for example – for more sustainable growth.
And that is exactly what Villa are doing with their plans to revamp Villa Park.
Villa could rake it in by emulating Bayern Munich’s hospitality model
As reported by Birmingham Live, work is underway to create almost 1,500 new premium seats that the club can sell at higher prices.
Some have perceived the move to come at the expense of season ticket holders, 900 of whom will be moved in order to accommodate the upgraded section.
It is the first step of a redevelopment of Villa Park which will eventually see capacity increased by several thousand.
In the long term, the stadium could house 50,000 or 60,000 supporters, although plans towards that end have been put on ice for now to avoid disruption at a time of huge momentum for the club.
Significantly, data shared with TBR by a leading football finance expert shows that Bayern Munich make almost as much money from the 10 per cent hospitality fans as they do other 90 per cent.
This is in part why they are able to keep ticket prices for ordinary match-going supporters so low.
If Villa follow this strategy, they could easily be looking at doubling their current matchday income to around the £38m mark with the addition of a few thousand premium seats.
This will not be in the short term, however, and will likely materialise when Villa do finally commence a complete redevelopment of their stadium and surrounding site.
Villa’s matchday income dwarfed by Premier League elite
Villa’s gate receipts of £19m pale in comparison next to the upper echelons of the Premier League.
Man United routinely generate in excess of £120m in matchday income even in a stadium that is in a state of disrepair.
Tottenham and Arsenal meanwhile are also members of the £100m-plus club.
Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool all average around £75m per season through the turnstiles.
Even next to their more traditional peer group, Villa are well behind. Newcastle United generated £38m in matchday revenue last season, while West Ham raked in £41m.
Yes, these clubs have bigger stadiums than Villa, but their revenue per fan is also higher.
All of this makes it even more impressive that Villa managed to break into the top four, but it also emphasises the work that must be done to sustain their position among football’s elite.