Emirates Stadium London: Management and Regional Urban Regeneration - Report Example

Emirates Stadium – London: Management and Regional Urban Regeneration BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANISATION HERE HERE Emirates Stadium – London: Management and Regional Urban Regeneration Introduction The development of a new professional sporting stadium maintains a wide variety of positive outcomes for the regional community. Preliminary discussions at the financial level generally involve the interaction between community stakeholders and powerful financial entities who discuss the impact that the new stadium construction will incur for the local community. These discussions consider alterations to local public and commercial infrastructures as well as identifying the main sources of revenue proposed by various partnerships and the development of sporting events. After stadium construction, managing and coordinating events involves a practical management team that is well-versed (and educated) in creating strategic objectives which provide for a smooth operational environment and secure positive outcomes for the stakeholder community. This report highlights the micro- and macro-economic impact of the Emirates Stadium in north London, focusing specifically on areas of social impact, employment opportunities, urban regeneration and partnerships. Though Emirates Stadium was only opened in July 2006, there are clear environmental and social improvements that have been created by the stadium’s development which will be discussed in detail in this project. What is Emirates Stadium? Emirates Stadium cost £430 million to construct and is currently home to the Arsenal Football Club, a major sporting club in the United Kingdom. One of the more fundamental aspects of the stadium is its large seating capacity, consisting of 60,355 seats, more than any other stadium in the general London region. The Emirates stadium generates the majority of its revenues from the London football fan base, totalling approximately £3 million during each game presentation (Marketing Week, 2007). Increased seating capacity is the largest revenue generator for the Stadium and its management team. The Arsenal Football Club maintains financial assistance and financial directives from a variety of millionaires and billionaires who own their own unique stake in the Club. These “heavy hitters”, in terms of financial capability, provide the stadium with the financial resources necessary to ensure that the Arsenal Football Club continues to draw high volumes of ticket revenues, which can be returned to the community in the form of urban renewal efforts or other community-inspired infrastructure development. Urban Regeneration & Government Policy AYH, Plc, a major construction and property consultant firm, indicates that Emirates Stadium has become the foundational catalyst for urban regeneration in the north section of London (Hays.com, 2007). AYH was the lead project and cost management group during the Stadium’s construction and has worked with local authorities and community stakeholder groups to provide a sustainable development agenda triggered by Emirates Stadium construction (Hays.com). This agenda includes the construction of modern homes, waste recycling centres (as stadium waste can be extraordinary in volume), and a variety of commercial and other business facilities geared toward the local London citizen. Such efforts at urban regeneration appear to be a natural outcome of similar facility development, as sporting stadiums and the events presented tend to bring the community together to explore common athletic interests. In most situations, when sporting stadiums are constructed (a general truism on an international level), social activities begin to take shape, including patronisation of area restaurants, shopping and nightlife facilities (Rogers & Vanda, 2000). Because of these consumer behaviour patterns associated with stadium attendance, it is a natural evolution that local managers and city planners would be concerned with creating an inviting commercial and residential environment adjacent to the stadium to improve community activities and cohesion. Local infrastructure improvements created solely by the existence of Emirates Stadium include the creation of ample parking, an element which was largely missing in the north London district at the time of the facility’s construction. Islington Council, a regional authority, in partnership with Arsenal Football Club, have created an urban renewal agenda that includes the construction of ample parking bays and the development of controlled-parking zones (Islington.gov.uk, 2008), allowing for easier and more convenient access to the Stadium and its activities as well as reducing the congestion and noise that can be a negative environmental outcome of improper parking management. Though it is a natural assumption that such a sporting arena would require ample parking to cater to a high seating volume, however the Emirates Stadium appears to have required the development of street and facilities parking in order to manage spectator traffic and provide ease-of-access to the new stadium. In addition, for decades the railway system in this area of north London agreed to lease sections of their privately-owned property for the development of ecologically-sound conservation and environmentally-pleasing natural lands near the stadium (Livingstone, 2007). This effort was so well-received by the local community that the railway has provided land near the Stadium for further environmental and urban renewal campaigns. The Islington Council, in addition, worked to coordinate the construction of a convenient and modern footpath for construction over the railway-owned land, allowing for easy access to the Stadium for consumers (Livingstone). Such a development requires the financial planning capabilities and management of local councils, any external entity searching for methods to invest as well as Stadium ownership. These agreements and partnership contracts have created sustainable commercial and environmental improvements in proximity to the stadium, making this region both modern in appeal and well-suited for consumer spectators who will likely, by consumer behaviour theory, be turned away from patronising Emirates in the future if these improvements had not made this region more socially and commercially inviting. The efforts of Islington Council illustrates the focus that local governmental authorities place on creating a more rewarding region of north London and provide its citizens with facilities that improve the social and landscape conditions of the local community. Specific information regarding the Council’s policies regarding the tangible business practices of Emirates Stadium could not be identified through research, however when it comes to the campaign to improve the urban landscape, it is clear that local authorities deem the Stadium as a positive catalyst for a variety of environmental and urban landscape changes and will continue to work with Stadium leadership and external investors to create a modern north London region through urban regeneration. Economic Impact on North London Because a wide variety of external investors appear to deem Emirates Stadium as a viable investment opportunity, this region has seen a short-term explosion in both commercial and residential development. The Financial Times (2007) offers the who’s who of finance to include David Dein, vice-chairman of the Arsenal Football Club, who owns 14.6 percent stake in the Club. Stan Kroenke, U.S. billionaire and husband to Wal-Mart heiress, Ann Walton, holds 11.3 percent stake in the Club. These financial giants contribute funds to commercial, environmental and residential development in this region, likely as a tax write-off, however the partnerships created by local stakeholders and governmental authorities maintain a significant volume of external investors by which to create a more rewarding north London. Though the motivation for such influence is likely tax-related, from a personal business management perspective, the aforementioned billionaires and millionaires create a larger economic pool by which to plan for urban regeneration activities. Blitz (2006) reports that improved facilities serve to increase stadium revenues. In many respects, these revenues are, in some fashion, returned to the local community through stadium taxation. Hence, there is a major incentive for every individual involved in the Emirates Stadium from its internal management team, to its external investors, to the local governmental authority, to create a pleasing commercial and residential infrastructure that promotes community cohesion and expresses the idea that north London is now a modern recreational region. Evidence suggests that many citizens in the United Kingdom, today, have expressed a larger community demand for modernism and national heritage (Boone & Kurtz, 2006). With this in mind, it could potentially be a social shift in consumer behaviour that is driving the majority of improvements in the region. Whatever the real motivation, improved restaurant and other commercial facilities constructed after or during the same period of Emirates Stadium construction, have provided considerable economic opportunities in terms of jobs creation and overall economic improvements created by higher commercial sales revenues. Social and Labour Benefits of Stadium Development As previously identified, Emirates Stadium maintains the ability to create a socially rewarding environment simply through the construction of more quality commercial developments near the stadium. With a higher volume of commercial access afforded by infrastructure changes, citizens are able to not only enjoy a spectator event at the stadium, but have the opportunity to extend their recreation beyond the event to include restaurant patronisation or experiencing night life activities. When a large-scale facility is constructed in virtually any reason, it is a logical assessment to suggest that other profit-hungry commercial developers will move or construct their consumer-oriented businesses near the area of higher revenue streams. Thus, it might be considered a natural evolution that occurs when an area that houses such a large volume of citizens is constructed in a region that is prone toward commercial and residential improvements. Specific figures regarding the tangible social benefits of the Emirates Stadium could not be identified through research efforts, however utilising a rather subjective approach to analysis, the development of improved parking, walking, roadway and commercial developments create an inter-connected environment in which one can access a wide variety of consumer facilities without the burden of elongated transportation needs. In essence, the construction of Emirates Stadium has created the physical infrastructure necessary for citizens to explore the entire local community without maintaining concern over convenience. It could be said that the convenience provided by local governmental campaigns and investor improvements in the region is the largest social impact of stadium development in north London. Employment Opportunities & Geographical Importance One of the major labour-related opportunities created by Emirates Stadium is the change in education delivery that has occurred as a product of commercial development. The process of managing a sporting stadium is not simplistic and involves internal and external strategic decision-making. Bruce Shulze, president of Dolphins Stadium in the United States, offers: “Obviously you’d like to have a nice, unbroken chain where young people are well-educated, well-trained and come into our industry prepared to make good decisions and rise through the ranks. That’s definitely part of the proper formula” (Cameron, 2006: 10). Schulze is attempting to illustrate the complexity of sporting and stadium management and is concerned that first-class universities may not be gearing graduates toward developing the skills necessary to run a successful stadium enterprise. However, as educational facilities begin to understand the importance of supplying today’s youths with the practical skills necessary to land a position in this highly complicated industry, changes to university education are occurring. Schools are offering students facility management courses as part of their management curriculum, blending hospitality theory with that of generic business management (Artemis, 2003). Hence, Emirates Stadium could be identified as the foundation for changes to the delivery of education in the London region, offering the community a wider variety of skilled managers ready to tackle the challenges of revenues management, stakeholder relationships and external strategic positioning. In essence, Emirates Stadium has created a stronger labour pool for this area by being influential enough to change university curriculum guidelines in the study of facilities management. There are also a wide variety of internal positions that are afforded by Stadiums, including concession sales, ticket sales, maintenance and upkeep, community or public relations officials and even seat ushering. These are rather common sense elements of a sporting facility design, however with such a high volume of available spectator seating, it is clear that the Stadium is providing jobs for the community, thus boosting the economic stability of the north London region. However, interestingly, as part of cost-savings initiatives (the management angle), Stadium leadership has replaced traditional ticket sales with electronic ticketing systems, eliminating the need for operators managing the turnstyle upon entry to the stadium. Thus, while the operations angle of the Stadium requires additional labour, basic revenues management dictates finding new methods to reduce staffing. Only time will tell whether employment opportunities in this region are significantly enhanced by Stadium operations or whether modern technology will make the stadium more self-sufficient in terms of reducing labour requirements. There are any number of opportunities available for the job seeker in north London due to Emirates Stadium construction and, with improved facility space and seating, these available stadium-related positions create a stronger local economy as workers trade their earnings for consumer products and services. When taxable revenue is given back to local governmental authorities, the end result is a stronger government equipped with the funds necessary to create a wider variety of urban regeneration projects and satisfy the London consumer. London maintains a vastly different consumer demographic, suggesting both working class individuals and more affluent citizens. Marketing Week (2007) suggests that ticket prices at Emirates Stadium tend to bring a more affluent patron, thus the majority of efforts to create changes to stadium efficiency are geared toward satisfying this consumer demographic who generally maintains a high self-image (Boone & Kurtz, 2007). In terms of overall geographical importance, none can be concretely identified. However, this region of London is well-known for its more upscale consumer, thus geographically this stadium was developed likely to appease and satisfy the needs of the wealthier sports patron. Conclusion It is clear that through local authority intervention, external investors and by addressing the needs of the stakeholder community that Emirates Stadium has provided a tremendous series of opportunities in north London. These opportunities include higher revenues to create quality infrastructures, commercial and residential development. Convenience for the patronising sports fan appears to be the largest environmental outcome, in terms of urban renewal, experienced by this region of London. Emirates Stadium has created renewed interest (from practically any authoritative position) in developing a more sustainable community environment. Its construction has gained the attention of external investment entities, provided local governments with a higher pool of revenues to create quality landscapes and environmental initiatives and has served to delight the sports-oriented citizen in this region. By managing partnerships and discussing innovation in terms of urban renewal and sustainable development, Emirates Stadium has managed to create a positive footprint in northern London and provide its citizens with enhanced recreational and community involvement. Internal management activities are quite difficult to assess, as any business that does not trade publicly in the stock market generally does not discuss or publicise its failures in terms of management. However, the evidence suggests that Emirates Stadium is being tightly controlled by very competent internal and external leadership, thus the allocation of finances appears to be managed in a way that provides the maximum value to the stakeholder possible and affords them with new job opportunities and social unity. Bibliography Artemis, Anwar. (2003). Practical Application of Management versus Theory. Blackwell Publishing: 95. Blitz, Roger. (2006). ‘Finding a happy home for the passionate supporter’. Financial Times. London (UK). 6 Dec 2006: 22. Boone, L. & Kurtz, D. (2006). Contemporary Marketing. 12th ed. United Kingdom, Thomson South-Western. Boone, L. & Kurtz, D. (2007). Contemporary Marketing. 13th ed. United Kingdom, Thomson South-Western. Cameron, Steve. (2006). ‘Classes Dismissed’. Amusement Business. New York. 118(5): 10. Financial Times. (2007). ‘Who’s Who at the Emirates Stadium?’ London (UK). 20 Apr 2007: 19. Hays.com. (2007). ‘Lifestyle Market Sector: Sport, Retail, Leisure and Hotels’. AYH, Plc. Construction and property consultants. Retrieved 18 Feb 2008 from http://www.hays.com/jobs/ayh/sector_lifestyle.html. Islington.gov.uk. (2008). ‘Street Parking – Events at Emirates Stadium’. Retrieved 17 Feb 2008 from http://www.islington.gov.uk/Transport/RoadsAndParking/Parking/street_parking_events_at_emirates_stadium.asp Livingstone, Ken. (2007). ‘Consultation Draft: Improving Londoners’ Access to Nature, The London Plan’. Greater London Authority. Retrieved 18 Feb 2008 from http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/docs/access-to-nature.pdf Marketing Week. (2007). ‘ARSENAL: Gunners broaden their range’. London. 4 Oct 2007: 26. Rogers, M. & Vanda, A. (2000). Sociology: A 21st Century Perspective. Hamish Hamilton Publishing, United Kingdom: 102-103. Read More