Conference report: The business of football summit

Citation

Proctor, D. (2024), "Conference report: The business of football summit", Journal of Tourism Futures, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 372-373. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-06-2024-303

The Business of Football Summit

Biltmore Mayfair Hotel, London, February 28th and 29th, 2024.

The Financial Times' annual Business of Football Summit took place in hybrid format over two days, February 28th and 29th, 2024, at the Biltmore Mayfair Hotel in London. Although many of the presentations looked at performance and social challenges related to the game, the summit’s theme, “the path to profit”, held particular interest for tourism scholars, where sport is increasingly recognised as intersecting the tourism and hospitality space (Proctor et al., 2023). Speakers ranged from politicians, Lucy Frazer, the British secretary of state (minister) for culture, sports and media, to former players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovich, with a wide mix of investors, regulators, administrators and academics also present.

Day one of the summit was held exclusively online. Following a presentation by the event organisers, an open and interactive discussion took place looking at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s foray into the world of professional football. The vice chair of the Saudi football league, Saud Al Lazeez, spoke at length about the kingdom’s aspirations for the league to become one of the world’s top five professional football competitions within the timespan leading up to the 2034 World Cup, which Saudi Arabia is set to host. Interestingly, Mr. Al Lazeez suggested that the Saudi football league is being leveraged, alongside other sports, to showcase the country as an attractive tourism destination, thus diversifying the country’s economic base. He rejected claims that this was a case of sportswashing to detract from the country’s human rights record and that tourism would form one of the pillars of the Saudi economy in an era of declining dependence on fossil fuels. The kingdom hopes to attract 150 million visitors annually by 2030, according to Mr. Al Lazeez.

One of the conference highlights was the presentation and discussion featuring the British minister for culture, sports and media (Lucy Frazer). She was unequivocal in emphasising the importance of the links between football and the UK’s tourism industry, noting the improvement in stadium facilities that enhanced the football experience for both domestic and foreign visitors. Ms. Frazer also commented on the benefits to local communities due to the economic activity generated around football stadium. She claimed that the vast media reach of the English Premier League was not only important in highlighting the excellence of British sport but also acted as a de facto, and very successful, marketing tool for the country’s tourism sector. Tourism scholars have increasingly looked at these issues and the leveraging of sport for tourism ends (Chalip, 2004, 2017; Sparvero and Chalip, 2007; Proctor et al., 2018, 2023). It was reassuring to see that political stakeholders have also begun to recognise the positive role that sport can play in these matters.

Although many of the delegates represented investors seeking “the path to profit”, it was interesting to note that they considered the sport’s lucrative broadcasting rights revenues to have plateaued, with real estate emerging as the principal area for growth. Zlatan Ibrahimovich, representing RedBird Capital Partners, owners of Italian club AC Milan, confirmed that the club would relocate from the iconic San Siro stadium that it shares with its city rival Internazionale to its own state-of-the-art facility within the next five years. The project’s costs, in excess of €1 billion, would be recouped via a combination of increased matchday revenue and making the stadium facilities attractive to visitors on a daily basis. This theme was echoed by the chief financial officer of FC Barcelona, whose famous Camp Nou stadium is currently being redeveloped. The driving force behind this is to generate increased revenue from its hospitality and tourism facilities. He noted that prior to closing its doors due to the ongoing work, the club’s museum was the second most visited museum in Spain after Madrid’s world-famous Prado. It has become a huge international visitor attraction, with turnover that exceeds the entire revenue streams of some of FC Barcelona’s competitor clubs in Spain’s La Liga.

Other notable attendees representing stadium architects such as Declan Sharkey of Populous, the company that designed the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London, talked of football arenas operating as civic buildings that effectively bring the high street into the stadium with all the corresponding amenities. This is an ongoing topic within the research community, with McTier (2021) also suggesting that stadia be developed with sustainable goals in mind. Donna-Maria Cullen, an executive director of Tottenham, remarked on how it was unfathomable that the club’s stadium once stood empty and unused for practically 340 days of the year. Their new facility in North London is said to be the world’s “greenest” sports ground. Since opening in 2019, the club’s increased revenues, generated by stadium-related activities, have propelled it into the elite tier of the world’s wealthiest sports franchises. It is a multi-purpose venue heavily reliant on its hospitality related facilities with further development planned for the addition of a 180-room hotel.

Overall, the summit’s message is an important one for researchers and practitioners in the fields of hospitality and tourism. Sports stadiums represent substantial potential in these areas that, as of now, is still relatively untapped. While much of the more exciting developments might appear to feature clubs in major cities, it would be remiss not to communicate the suggestions of many of the principals relating to the fact that these projects are bespoke and scalable. The goal of Mr Sharkey’s architectural firm is to deliver stadia that are destinations 365 days of the year, serving local communities and visitors alike. This has implications for clubs such as SC Cambuur Leeuwarden, which is currently in the process of relocating to its own new stadium on the west side of Friesian capital in the Netherlands.

The conference shed light on the leverage of sport, and more specifically, sports stadiums as catalysts for tourism development. By highlighting the relationship between the sport’s media prominence and the appeal of its stadium infrastructure, it becomes evident that the popularity of football, in particular, can serve as a strategic asset for destination marketing. This presents opportunities to reimagine the future of tourism across a wide spectrum of destinations, ranging from those hosting globally renowned football “brands” to lesser-known locations boasting professional clubs operating out of modern leisure oriented stadia.

Conference website: https://businessoffootball.live.ft.com/