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Kieran Maguire: Man City on course for £10m-a-year bonanza after official reveal
Man City are looking to boost matchday income by as much as £10million per year with the expansion of the Etihad Stadium’s North Stand.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the earning power of the East Manchester stadium, which currently seats 53,400 spectators.
City announced on Monday (12 December) that they are undertaking a feasibility study to increase that number to beyond 60,000.
There are also plans to add a new fan zone, club shop, workplace and an on-site hotel.
Maguire forecasts that much of the capacity increase at the Etihad will be dedicated to new corporate facilities.
That could almost double what they might earn if the expansion was entirely to house regular supporters, claims the spreadsheet wizard.
“I think in the case of Man City and the North Stand expansion the focus is very much going to be on the corporate shilling in terms of increasing overall revenues,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“It is very noticeable that City have significantly lower matchday revenues than their peer group. It is around about half of Man United and Spurs despite the fact the differences in capacity are not huge.
“This could be a testament to the way that City have run the operation. They do have a very loyal local fanbase who aren’t necessarily willing to pay much higher prices.
“But given the success of the club, we will see a huge attraction in terms of corporate customers wanting to attend matches. Therefore, I think City will want to go down that route.
“If we had 6,600 extra seats for normal fans, that would probably only bring in £4m per year. I think City will be wanting to at least double that, and that is indicative of how the structure of the expansion will take place.
In other news, pundit suggests Man City could complete “brilliant” Josko Gvardiol signing after offer update.