Finding ways to maximise revenue streams has never been more important for Liverpool.
Emerging from a pandemic, two loss making financial years, a campaign played entirely behind closed doors and with potential Financial Fair Play reforms coming down the tracks from UEFA where clubs will only be able to spend in line with their revenue generation means that finding ways to bring more money into the club is paramount.
Now, hosting concerts and other events in football stadiums isn't something new. From Live Aid to the NFL, football stadiums have longed been used for other spectacles, and they have long been a source of welcome money into the coffers during the off season, a time when seeing the stands full isn't usually on the agenda.
Liverpool have held concerts at Anfield previously, with Take That and Bon Jovi among those to have performed, and this summer they will see two titans of the British music industry entertain fans in one of sports most iconic venues as the legendary Rolling Stones and Elton John will play what are likely to be sell out gigs at the home of Liverpool Football Club. It is something that Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group would like to see more of, especially with the capacity to be increased to 61,000 by the time the Anfield Road redevelopment is completed.
Hosting concerts is something that is very much in FSG's wheelhouse, with the US owners having last year laid the final beam of a 5,000-seater music theatre venue adjacent to Fenway Park Stadium in Boston, while Fenway Park itself has played host to artists such as Guns N' Roses, Green Day, Maroon 5 and the Jonas Brothers are all set for shows at the home of the Boston Red Sox this year and next. There have also been spectacle events such as NHL's Winter Classic that have been held at Fenway, an event that brings in large numbers of spectators and media revenues, as well as the stadium having previously played host to Liverpool pre-season games during their most recent tour of the US in 2019.
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Liverpool have a licence in place to host up to six non-football events at Anfield over a six-week period during the off season for a period of five years, the restrictions in place to limit the impact on local residents. And while the club and owners would undoubtedly like to host as many closed season events as possible at Anfield, the potential for these events as they stand is already a lucrative summer revenue stream.
Tottenham Hotspur were expecting to see around £10m in revenue delivered from their new stadium hosting an Anthony Joshua title fight, as well as Lady Gaga and Guns N' Roses concerts. The pandemic impacted those plans but the Joshua fight, where he was defeated by Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, was anticipated to deliver £3m on its own. Spurs also have a multi-million pound, multi-year deal in place with the NFL to host a game per season on British soil.
Sold out concerts at Anfield could cater for up to 50,000 fans due to the nature of lost seats through rigging and stage set up. But for other events there is the potential to for the Reds to reach a regular matchday capacity, something that delivers them more than £3m per game. Sports such as boxing, where all stands can be utilised, are obvious contenders, but UFC has seen a meteoric rise in popularity in recent years and one of its most recent breakout stars is Liverpool born and bred, and he's also a massive Red.
Paddy 'the Baddy' Pimblett took the plaudits when he forced a first round submission of Kazula Vargas at UFC London at the weekend at the O2 Arena. Liverpool players including Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson sent their congratulations to Pimblett via social media after his Saturday heroics, with UFC president Dana White having spoken on how Pimblett is backing up the very real hype he has created. And Anfield is something that Pimblett wants, and it is something that could see Liverpool get the chance to pack their home ground full of Scouse support without a football in sight.
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Said Pimblett after his win over Vargas.: "The O2 Arena is too small for me. A lot of people come to watch me and Molly (McCann). Get Anfield on, get Anfield on and I will sell it out."
It isn't the first time that Pimblett has spoken of his desire to fight in an octagon in the middle of the Anfield pitch, a place where he has watched his Liverpool heroes down the years. Now the 27-year-old has only served to make his stock climb even further.
Speaking to BT Sport last year, Pimblett said: "We’re going to have a cage in the middle of this pitch, one June, July when the season’s finished, we’re going to have Anfield packed out. Every seat filled, all the grass with seats on and the cage in the middle, and I’ll be lifting a world title in the middle of there. I know for a fact I will, I’ve seen it in my future already.
"It can be in a year’s time or it can be in 10 years’ time. I’m still a young lad, I’ve still got at least another 10 years of fighting in me, and over those 10 years we will fill this stadium out with fight fans. We will, it’s coming, it’s happening. I know it’s going to happen.
"Like I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, it’s my destiny. I’ve seen it in my future. I’ll be holding a world title up, in the middle of a UFC cage, in that arena. Well – arena – that f***ing stadium, Anfield, the Mecca for Liverpool fans."
And after his most recent heroics he may well find he is a step closer to achieving that dream. And he could end up providing a big boost to the club that he loves so dearly.
