Man City have just struck another off-pitch deal after £300m news confirmed
Man City have evolved into one of the biggest brands in football in recent years, with huge benefits for both their sporting and commercial operations....
Man City have evolved into one of the biggest brands in football in recent years, with huge benefits for both their sporting and commercial operations.
At the last count, City’s income from sponsorship, merchandise and events totalled £341m, which was the comfortably the biggest in the Premier League.
Man City are reaping the rewards for their era-defining success under Pep Guardiola, but their commercial department deserve huge credit in isolation too.
Their list of achievements extends well beyond M11 too, with almost all of the City Football Group multi-club network also enjoying the benefits of being associated with the City brand.
Matchday income is also the highest it has ever been at the Etihad – and by some margin too.
They earned £72m through the turnstiles in their 2022-23 treble-winning season, the last financial year for which full financial data is available.
And it is the Etihad Stadium where City are looking to create even more value, in turn boosting the budget available to Guardiola.
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City’s £300m stadium project boosted as new commercial deal struck
For some time now, City have harboured ambitions to expand and improve the Etihad Stadium.
The ground, which currently houses 53,400 spectators, has already undergone several makeovers since Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2008.
As well as increasing capacity and therefore ticketing revenue, these developments have focused on more efficiently monetising their support.
That has manifested in an emphasis on corporate hospitality, in-stadium catering, and merchandising facilities.
In late September, City announced that they had been given formal approval to press on with a £300m plan to revamp the stadium’s North Stand.
The project will see capacity rise beyond 60,000 and greatly increase City’s earning power.
Fresh off the back of that announcement, City have now also confirmed that they have stuck a new commercial deal with StairMedia.
The company – who are behind the double-sized advertising hoardings at the Etihad Stadium – will now lay on new technology allowing City to display LED adverts in their stairways at their new stadium.
City’s commercial income
While it might seem a trivial addition on face value, City have made huge commercial gains in this department in recent years.
In the era of PSR, when City’s spending is tied to revenue, this is central to their ambitions as a football club and a business.
With City reportedly eyeing a stand-in for the injured Rodri in January, these kinds of incremental commercial wins illustrate the synergy between the two departments at the club.
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