US billionaires missing huge trick at St James’
BIG OPPORTUNITY FOR INVESTORS – BARTON
AMERICAN businessmen own quite a few of the Premier League’s big teams, but whether interest Stateside stretches to buying Newcastle United remains to be seen, says Warren Barton.
The former Toon defender now works as a broadcaster with Fox Sports in San Diego, and admits the lucrative rewards of England’s top flight have certainly caught the eye of some in America.
“It’s grabbing a lot of people,” Barton told the Sunday Sun.
“If you want to start an MLS franchise, you have to spend $120million first and foremost to buy into the league, then you have t o realistically spend another $120m on a stadium which you’re then looking to put money into for the next two to three years. “So you’re going close to half a billion dollars, and there’s people queuing up for that here. “But the thing is, you could go to Newcastle where you have an established Premier League stadium and training ground plus a wonderful coach for maybe half of that! “Before you even open a door in the Premier League, you’re generating £150m and that’s before selling a shirt or kicking a ball – it’s the TV revenue. “There’s no sports here that you can do that with – other than maybe the NFL, so that is why it’s appealing to Americans.
“But you need a billionaire to do that and they don’t fall off trees but that is a lot of interest in the Premier League – the fans, the commitment and the excitement, they go to a game and they’re taken away by it.”
Over the last few months several stories have emerged of apparent American interest, with former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon first linked with heading up an American consortium to buy Newcastle.
Nothing has yet come of that story which was broken in September, and further stories including claims that Ashley was in America earlier this month to finalise a sale have been played down.
Nonetheless, Barton is sure that if those with the desire to buy a club make a visit to St James’ Park, their interest will pique.
“People go over to England and when they come back they tell me they can’t believe the passion and intensity at every stadium. I tell them that ‘it’s the norm of what Premier League football is’.
“The thing is, they’ve probably only been to Old Trafford or Anfield, let them get up to St James’ Park and see the fans going crazy.
“They beat Bournemouth and they were going ballistic; now what was it like when we were beating Manchester United and Barcelona?
“There is interest, you hear it everyday.”
Barton has been over in the States for more than 10 years and is a familiar face on Fox Sports which broadcasts the Premier League and the Champions League, and with the growing interest in football – it’s the biggest grow
ing sport in the