Newcastle United will open up a new revenue stream when the club's fan zone opens on Thursday.
Newcastle CEO Darren Eales previously revealed that the Magpies were thinking of ways that the club 'can be smart to try to grow our revenue streams' and this is a prime example. The 3,000-capacity fan zone, which is a collaboration between Newcastle and STACK, will be open from 10am to midnight every day of the week as the club look to boost non-match day income.
There is a sizable gap to bridge in that respect. Spurs, for instance, have turned the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into a thriving multi-use venue. Beyonce's five-night run last summer was the highest-grossing concert ever staged by a female artist at the time; the arena is the official home of the NFL in the UK; the stadium plays host to the world's first F1 branded electric karting experience; and the club are even building a 180-room hotel to support their conference and events business.
Spurs have since been granted planning permission so that up to 30 major non-football events can be hosted at the stadium per calendar year, including concerts, rugby matches, boxing bouts and NFL games. This will naturally lead to an increase in operating costs, but there is a huge pay-off and Spurs state that these events create 'additional recurring sources of revenue for the club to reinvest in its football activities', which is a key part of the club's financial model.
In fact, Spurs' commercial revenues from sponsorship, merchandising and other revenues such as third-party events, visitor attractions and conference and events increased to £227.7m in 2022-23. This figure helped Spurs post a club-record turnover of £549.6m and, while UEFA prize money contributed to the overall sum, chairman Daniel Levy confirmed that this had also been driven by 'increased stadium revenues from both football and non-football events and additional revenue streams'.
"This is the impact of our multi-use stadium and what our board has been focused on delivering in order to invest in our football in a financially sustainable manner," he said.
Spurs, of course, also boast the second biggest stadium in the Premier League and Newcastle are looking at 'all the options' when it comes to the future of St James' Park as supporters await the findings of the final report from the club's feasibility study.