It didn't take long for Tim Barton to realize the impact he was making by becoming the first American to buy a top Italian soccer club.
When the Texas-based entrepreneur landed in Bari last month to sign off on the $35.8 million deal, 1,500 Italian fans surged past security and onto the tarmac to greet him, temporarily closing down the southern city's airport.
The excitement grew six days later when Bari rallied for a 1-1 draw at the home of four-time defending Serie A champion Inter Milan -- a great day for a team playing its first match back in the top Italian division in eight years.
Barton signed a preliminary deal last month to acquire Bari from the Matarrese family that has controlled the club for the past 32 years.
It's little wonder the Matarrese family is ready to finish the sale. Running Italian teams can be a risky business.
Italian Serie A clubs totaled $2 billion in cumulative operating losses over the 10-year span ending in 2007-08 -- the last season for which full records are available, according to London-based accounting firm Deloitte. English clubs gained nearly $2.87 billion over the same period.
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Soccer-Italian Super Cup to feather Olympic Bird’s Nest
The Italian Super Cup between Inter Milan and Lazio is set to attract a full house of 80,000 to the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing next month after a flurry of early ticket sales.
Over half the seats for the first sporting event at the iconic arena since the close of Beijing’s Olympic summer last year have already been booked less than a week after they went on sale, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Wednesday.
“There’s no question the Bird’s Nest will be full,” an organising official told the paper, adding that predicted revenue from the game would be around 70 million yuan ($10.25 million).
The pre-season curtain raiser between Serie A champions Inter and Italian Cup winners Lazio will kick off at 8 p.m. local time on Aug. 8 — a year after the Olympic opening ceremony at the same venue.
The other major event in the Beijing International Football Festival, the English Premier League’s Asia Trophy, has not done as well at the box office so far, the organiser said.
A total of 20,000 tickets had been sold for the biennial tournament involving English clubs Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Hull City as well as hosts Beijing Guoan.
The tournament takes place on July 29 and 31 at the spiritual home of Chinese football in the capital, the Workers’ Stadium, which will have a capacity of 49,000 for the event.
Over half the seats for the first sporting event at the iconic arena since the close of Beijing’s Olympic summer last year have already been booked less than a week after they went on sale, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Wednesday.
“There’s no question the Bird’s Nest will be full,” an organising official told the paper, adding that predicted revenue from the game would be around 70 million yuan ($10.25 million).
The pre-season curtain raiser between Serie A champions Inter and Italian Cup winners Lazio will kick off at 8 p.m. local time on Aug. 8 — a year after the Olympic opening ceremony at the same venue.
The other major event in the Beijing International Football Festival, the English Premier League’s Asia Trophy, has not done as well at the box office so far, the organiser said.
A total of 20,000 tickets had been sold for the biennial tournament involving English clubs Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Hull City as well as hosts Beijing Guoan.
The tournament takes place on July 29 and 31 at the spiritual home of Chinese football in the capital, the Workers’ Stadium, which will have a capacity of 49,000 for the event.
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