Real Madrid are close to applying the finishing touches to the new Santiago Bernabeu, which has renovated the outer facade, the facilities internally, and added a new roof. It is part of a plan to extract more money from the stadium, with the project costing close to a billion euros.
Already Real Madrid have sold off 30% of the income from the Bernabeu for the next 20 years to Sixth Street in order to bring in their expertise on event management, and fund the work. Their plan, like many clubs renovating their stadiums, is to make it ‘365-day’ stadium, hosting events and concerts constantly.
Their new retractable roof is fitted with a jumbo screen too, while, there will also be four more screens around the ground for fans in the top tier, who will be unable to see that screen properly. This will be part of plan to host events at the ground, including light shows, with the entire top tier capable of being lighted too. They will also allow images on the Paseo de la Castellana side of the stadium, allowing businesses to put up major advertisements, which should bring in plenty of revenue. The fact that Taylor Swift is set to play a concert there next year and the NFL are planning to host a game at the Bernabeu in 2025 are further evidence of their intentions.
Perhaps the most interesting part of Marca‘s report that details the above though, is that Real Madrid want to ‘educate’ their fans to become more like NFL or US fans. They say they want it to be a family investment, and ‘although ticket prices will be high, the experience will not be limited to just a game of football’. It continues on to say that fans should understand that they have to come to the stadium hours before in order to make it a ritual like those which are popular in the USA. This is followed by the curious line that ‘sport is education and education is excellence’.
All of this seems to be pointing towards further exploitation of fans for more money. Real Madrid are well within their rights to charge high prices, particularly if they are offering something different more over-arching thant ‘just’ a football game. Ultimately, Real Madrid are a business too, and this may be the best path towards profits, which Florentino Perez has brought to Los Blancos.
However many football fans are primarily intested in the football. Perez has often moralised on trying to engage young fans in the sport, but if ticket prices continue to increase, local fans that would go to games against less illustrious opposition will not be able to afford to do so on a regular basis. Equally, they risk missing out on young fans that would be hooked into supporting Real Madrid by going to the Bernabeu, and becoming loyal supporters, in pursuit of an older, wealthier fan.
