Fewer fans, increased costs the new normal for soccer stadiums

Reduction in stadium capacities, improved ventilation systems and mobile payment for tickets and drinks are some of the measures soccer clubs may have to implement while designing stadiums in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A study conducted by architecture studio Fenwick Iribarren says the design of stadiums in the future will be influenced by the coronavirus outbreak and that clubs will need to embrace solutions that promote social distancing in venues.

To enforce social distancing, clubs would need to either develop bigger venues with the same number of seats or reduce the capacity, with the latter the more likely solution, leading to a decline in match-day revenue, the study said.

“No touch” solutions, including automatic doors, activation of lights by infrared detection and mobile payment for tickets and drinks are already available but implementing them would be expensive, increasing the cost of hosting matches.

According to accounting firm KPMG, Europe’s top clubs suffered an estimated 15 to 30 per cent loss in match-day revenue in 2019-20 due to their home games being played behind closed doors and if health restrictions prevail, longer-term losses will hit even harder.

“It is still unknown whether fans will return to watch live football in the same crowded mass as before the pandemic,” said Andrea Sartori, KPMG’S global head of sports.

“Experience, however, shows that once the direct and immediate threat of a crisis is gone, people tend to return to their routine activities — even more so if it is their passionate pastime.”

The study also touched upon the need for health screening procedures at stadiums, suggesting the use of facial recognition that links to a health database to identify atrisk individuals.

Mark Fenwick, head of Fenwick Iribarren, estimated clubs would reduce stadium capacity significantly to ensure a reasonable level of safety.

“It is necessary to see how the reduction of capacity is made, how the spaces where people mix are treated,” Fenwick said in an interview.

“But I think it is a sustainable and saleable challenge.”