Cats could lose £250k per BCD matches
Sunderland could lose over £250,000 per game as the League One campaign looks set to continue behind closed doors.
While there were initial hopes that spectators could begin to return to fixtures from October 1, government minister Michael Gove has confirmed that the plans will now be ‘paused’ due to the rising number of cases nationwide.
And that means clubs like the Black Cats, who have already played their opening third tier fixtures in front of empty stadiums, face an extended period without being able to welcome supporters.
That, of course, will also hit the coffers of a number of clubs.
But how much do Sunderland stand to lose as games go behind closed doors?
Using data from the club’s most recent accounts, which cover the 2018/19 season, Sunderland’s losses could top £250,000 for each game which is played behind closed doors.
That’s based on the fact that they pocketed approximately £268,000 per game during that season, with ticketing revenue not thought to have significantly fallen since that campaign.
The Black Cats will not be as hard hit as some other League One clubs should this drastic action be taken though, and indeed, Sunderland’s matchday income is believed to represent a smaller percentage of their overall turnover than some of their rivals.
But it still represents a source of income that the club will have to do without for the foreseeable future.
Sunderland will pocket some revenue from the live streaming of games, but this amount is substantially less than what ticketing income would have brought in.