Football Finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley has warned the Manchester United hierarchy they could be left behind by the likes of Tottenham Hotspur with regards to matchday income.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tottenham are yet to play a full season in their new 62,850-capacity venue, despite it opening two and half years ago.
However, with fans now back to full capacity, the club will be hoping that they can make up for the lost income over the course of this season.
In addition, the venue has also held several big sporting events like NFL matches and boxing, which would supplement the matchday income from Spurs home games.
United released their latest quarterly figures on 17 November and it shows that the club earned £18.8m in matchday income for the three months leading up to September.
Extrapolated throughout the season, that would mean the Red Devils are on course to bringing in £75.2m.
The Glazers sanctioned a £20m investment into the facilities at Old Trafford over the summer but Plumley believes they need to continue investing if they wish to catch up with Spurs, especially when it comes to hospitality.
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He told Football Insider: “It has been levelled at the Glazers that they haven’t invested in infrastructure.
“Hospitality is within that. The stadium is still a good capacity even without that investment.
“Maybe the club have looked at it and judged that it isn’t a strategic priority at the moment.
“They know what they can generate from a matchday and they know they have other revenue streams they can tap into.
“Other infrastructure development comes at a cost. Then you start to look at the way they’re operating, which might be a bit prohibitive.
“There comes a point where you’re in danger of falling too far behind your rivals in that space, especially with corporate hospitality.
“Tottenham have really gone heavy on it with their new stadium and it will pay off for them further down the line.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I feel many Spurs fans still do not grasp how big the stadium is in securing the club’s long-term health. It is now fast becoming one of the most sought-after venues in London for concerts and sporting events, which means the money that the ground will bring in is only going to increase over the next few years.
What this enables is our matchday income to make up for the commercial income gap that we have with the likes of Manchester United, thus allowing us to compete with them over the long term. This was essentially the only way for us to stay within the FFP regulations and close the gaps with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City without having a sugar daddy owner.
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