Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 177

177: Bolstering Finances

The second step to improve Burnley’s financial health was underway: discussions to create a more stable source of income through stadium admission revenues.

“For this season, we’ll keep the season ticket price at the existing 500 pounds. However, we plan to set the average price for the 17,500 general admission tickets at 200 pounds per ticket.”

Until now, the existing prices for general admission tickets had been maintained due to the ongoing construction. But now that the box seats are complete, there’s no need to wait any longer.

“Are you sure that’s okay? The price is quite a bit higher…”

John Vanaskewitz, who had been listening, muttered with concern.

Previously, the average price for general admission tickets at Turf Moor was 36 pounds.

Of course, ticket prices varied depending on the location and distance from the pitch, but the average was indeed 36 pounds.

However, Emil shook his head before Helena could respond.

“It should be fine. Most of the people buying Burnley’s general admission tickets are away fans and visitors anyway. I don’t think there will be a problem even if the average ticket price rises above 200 pounds.”

The general admission ticket prices at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, a state-of-the-art stadium in London, range from 470 pounds to 930 pounds.

That is, if you can even get them.

While the Emirates Stadium fully enjoys the benefits of accessibility and the Arsenal brand, the average general admission ticket prices for major clubs like Manchester City and Manchester United, both located in Manchester, and Liverpool are around 400 pounds.

In fact, Anfield [Liverpool’s stadium] is treated as a sacred ground by football fans because of its incredible atmosphere, but watching a game at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium or Manchester United’s Old Trafford isn’t necessarily a pleasant experience.

“Since we’ll be discounting unsold tickets as the game time approaches anyway, there won’t be any major issues. There’s also the allocation for away fans. Let’s operate this way for this season and adjust the prices appropriately next season if needed.”

The directors nodded at Helena’s words.

If this plan succeeds, Turf Moor’s stadium admission revenue could jump from 22 million pounds last season to over 90 million pounds.

Considering that last season’s total expenditure, excluding player acquisitions, was only 160 million pounds, an increase in revenue of nearly 70 million pounds would greatly contribute to long-term financial stability.

This could be used for player acquisitions or salaries, leading to reinforcement of the team.

Helena, having confirmed the board’s agreement, who looked both worried and encouraged, checked the match schedule on her laptop.

“Then, it looks like all the stadium’s amenities will be in place by mid-December.”

“That’s right. But the construction itself will be finished by November. I imagine you’re thinking about the grand opening schedule?”

At the question from Michael Hensler, director of Gensler Architects, Helena nodded.

“I was planning to have the grand opening around a big game, and there’s a suitable match on December 19th. A Carabao Cup [English Football League Cup] quarter-final against Manchester United.”

“Oho.”

Mike Garlick, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, rubbed his hands together as if pleased.

“That seems perfect. If we call it the New Turf Moor grand opening commemorative match, broadcasters will be more willing to schedule it. We can squeeze out more in broadcasting fees.”

The stadium had been rebuilt with a whopping 100 million pounds poured into it, despite the club’s limited resources.

Of course, the difficulty had been somewhat diminished by the 73 million pounds earned from Karim Adeyemi’s transfer, resulting in a net income of 104.8 million pounds in the last summer transfer window. Still, it was one of the most significant construction projects among Premier League clubs outside of London in recent years.

“Then let’s proceed with preparations, assuming the grand opening will be held then.”

The people sitting in the conference room nodded in unison at Helena’s words.

***

[…It’s been confirmed like that.]

[…Okay, I understand. Then I’ll start preparing as well.]

Ian Cartwright II, the owner and CEO of Cartwright Fund, agreed to Helena after she finished her report via video conference.

Her older brother, Ian Cartwright III, who had been listening to the conversation between father and daughter, chimed in.

[…I have a question.]

[…What is it?]

Despite his younger sister’s blunt response, Ian Cartwright III, nicknamed ‘Third,’ asked with a bright smile.

[…What are you going to do about the stadium naming rights?]

Helena raised one eyebrow, but decided to answer sincerely since it was a question from the fund’s chief director.

[…I’m going to sell them. But after New Turf Moor has its grand opening.]

[…Why?]

Helena glanced at her younger brother, who was sitting next to her with the same curious expression, and smiled.

[…Once people see the completed New Turf Moor, I think we can raise the stadium naming rights price dozens of times higher than it is now.]

Even now, proposals are coming in to purchase the naming rights for the new stadium, but they are only at the level of hundreds of thousands of pounds per season at best.

On the other hand, when the Los Angeles Lakers of the American NBA [National Basketball Association] sold the naming rights to their home stadium, Staples Center, in 2021, they agreed to receive $35 million per year.

Similarly, it is estimated that Real Madrid, which is currently considered the most valuable brand in Europe, could earn more than 35 million euros per year if they sell the naming rights to the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

Considering that Burnley is causing a sensation in the Premier League and Europe, Helena was confident that she could raise the price to at least several million pounds.

Ian Cartwright II nodded after hearing Helena’s logic.

[…That’s a good idea. We’ll attend the stadium grand opening as well.]

[…Father will?]

This time, Ian Cartwright III nodded at Helena’s question.

[…It feels like we’ve left everything to you after acquiring Burnley. Well, Emil is there too, of course. We’ve decided to visit Burnley together this time.]

[…Together as in?]

Feeling uneasy, Helena asked, and Ian Cartwright III grinned.

[…Father, Mother, me, Aileen, Anna, and Mark.]

In other words, the entire Cartwright family would be gathering in Burnley, a rural town in the northwest of England.

[…Oh, um…]

While her younger brother Emil, who had been listening to the conversation, also looked flustered, Ian Cartwright II interjected.

[…You don’t need to prepare anything separately. We’ll take care of the accommodation and transportation, so you just need to let us know the schedule.]

At the words of their father, Ian Cartwright II, the two siblings, who had been secretly juggling work and romance in faraway Burnley from New York, stiffly turned their heads and looked at each other’s slightly pale faces.

Ah, this has become a bit of a hassle.

***

At the moment when the Cartwright siblings dispatched to Burnley were feeling a chill down their spines.

In the first team meeting room located a few rooms away, Hyungmin and Burnley’s coaching staff were wrapping up the review of the Borussia Mönchengladbach game in a friendly atmosphere.

“…After playing Kiro, we confirmed that his activity level and pressing indicators have increased compared to the previous game.”

“That’s good. But pressing is more about the actual success rate and how much it suppressed the opponent’s attack than just the number of attempts, so please keep that in mind as well.”

After the evaluation of individual scenes through video analysis was completed, and at the end of the discussion on various statistics and figures, Hyungmin pointed out to fitness coach Paulo Morais, who had finished evaluating the team’s overall activity level.

“Of course.”

The middle-aged Portuguese coach nodded solemnly.

As the overall meeting was wrapping up, Hyungmin looked around at the coaches sitting at the conference table.

“Overall, the performance has improved a lot, but I think it’s right to create training sessions as if we’re re-establishing the details from the beginning.”

“Haa… I guess so. I think we should think of tactical training as starting all over again.”

Chief coach Carolina agreed with a long sigh at Hyungmin’s words.

The reason why the most sophisticated attacking tactics in the Premier League at the end of last season had become a mess in the early part of this season was that about half of the squad that had learned the tactics had left, and the remaining half of the squad that had newly joined had absolutely no time to acquire them.

It would have been better if everyone had learned it together or if no one knew it at all, but the fact that only half of them knew it and half of them didn’t meant that there were constant moments during the game when the detailed tactics went wrong, which was almost confirmed as one of the reasons for the five consecutive losses.

Of course, there were a mountain of other reasons why the five consecutive losses occurred, but anyway, it was the job of the people gathered here to solve them one by one.

“Then Paulo, please focus on raising the overall stamina of the squad, and Carolina, please proceed with the work of re-imposing the attacking tactics.”

“Then should I support the two of you?”

While Carolina and Paulo Morais nodded, Taejin, who was sitting next to them, asked.

“That too, but Carolina will be out of her mind for the time being, so you’ll have to do the opponent’s tactical analysis.”

Taejin’s face turned slightly pale at Hyungmin’s words.

“You want me to do that alone?”

“There’s an analysis team, isn’t there? You’re doing it with the analysis team.”

“Haa…”

The analysis team organizes and delivers important scenes, but it is the responsibility of the coach in charge to review all the actual content, piece it together, and finalize what form the opposing team’s tactics take and what characteristics they have.

Of course, any first-team coach can and should perform this core task, but the problem is that Burnley, which is simultaneously competing in three competitions, the Premier League, the Champions League, and the Carabao Cup, has a huge variety of opponents to analyze.

A tight schedule with at least one game a week until the end of December.

There is a national team call-up period in the middle, but that’s only about a week.

In general, it is an amount of work that three or four coaches would be attached to and handle if they were a team in the Premier League, but in reality, he, a newcomer, has to do it alone.

However, what is most mentally burdensome is that he alone has to do the analysis of the opposing team, which has the greatest impact on the success or failure of the actual game, rather than the vast amount of work.

“Hey. Before you came, Paulo was busy managing physical training, so Carolina and I did it all by ourselves.”
Taejin frowned at Hyungmin’s seemingly boastful expression.

“Overworking subordinates is not the quality of a good leader.”

“I have no intention of becoming a good leader?”
Taejin flared up at Hyungmin’s firm answer.

“You have to be a good leader! Huh?! Share your subordinates’ work together, huh?!”

Carolina and Paulo Morais, abandoning the two high school classmates who were starting to argue again, silently packed their laptops and documents and got up from their seats.

“What’s for lunch today?”

“They say there will be Mediterranean fish and bean dishes today.”

“Oh, I’m looking forward to that.”