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Wembley concerts boost record FA revenue

Wembley Stadium operator the FA recorded a best-ever £370m turnover in 2015–16, driven in part by a busier live events calendar

By Jon Chapple on 20 Feb 2017

Capital Summertime Ball 2016, Wembley Stadium, Football Association (the FA), Martin Pearce

Wembley in concert mode for the 2016 Capital Summertime Ball


image © Martin Pearce

The Football Association (FA), the owner of Wembley Stadium in London, posted record revenue of £370 million in the 2015–2016 financial year, bolstered by a packed events calendar at the 90,000-cap. stadium.

Turnover in the year ending 31 July 2016 grew 16.4%, from £318m in 2014–15, while the FA made an after-tax profit of £7m, compared to a £9m loss in the preceding 12 months.

According to its 2016 financial report, the growth was driven by three main factors: prize money and broadcasting income from England’s participation in the Euro 2016 tournament; higher sponsorship revenues, chiefly from Emirates’s sponsoring the 2015–2016 FA Cup; and an increase in revenue from live and sporting events at Wembley, which increased to 35 from 28 in 2014–2015, including four additional concerts.

Major concerts at Wembley in 2015–2016 included dates by Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Rihanna and Ed Sheeran, who famously became the first male solo artist to play a headline show at the stadium.

“The FA is a not-for-profit organisation, and our focus is on investment for the future of the game. Last year we made very good progress”

“The FA is for all, and this [growth] allows us to invest even more money than ever before back into every level of our national game,” comments FA chief executive Martin Glenn. “The FA is a not-for-profit organisation, and our focus is on investment for the future of the game. Last year we made very good progress.”

Despite the critical and financial success of those concerts, the stadium is known to be scaling back its musical activities in favour of a renewed focus on football. “Despite having built a great concert franchise, Wembley remains at its core a football stadium,” reads the 2016 report, which also highlights a potential deal for Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur to play home matches at the stadium while their White Hart Lane ground in north London is replaced.

While there might be fewer events in 2017, Danielle Russell, the stadium’s partnership development manager for music and new events, told IQ recently that Wembley has a “great music calendar” for 2017, including shows by The Stone Roses, ELO and Adele. Wembley Stadium recently welcomed a new events management team, led by ex-Sunderland AFC commercial director Gary Hutchinson, to replace outgoing head of business development Jim Frayling.

 


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