Unnecessary and unaffordable new stadiums?

I've completed my first season as Selfoss in the Icelandic First Division and a surprise news item arrived to inform me of a new stadium build due to be finished the season after next. With a capacity of over 12,000, it will be the third biggest stadium in the country after the national team stadium and one owned by a leading Premier side.

All very good you think, but there's a catch - it costs £10.5 million, apparently split something like £7 million from the club, £3 million in grants and £600,000 from the sale of the old ground, with an addition £250,000 a year coming from ground sponsorship. The club is financing its contribution with a loan that will cost £160,000 a month in repayments for the next fourteen years.

To put this into perspective, all of the below make it look like a crazy decision:

1. The club's income last season was £140,000.

2. The club's balance stands at £1.3 million.

3. Our average attendance last season was 709.

4. There were 66 season ticket holders.

5. We're not even in the top division, let alone regularly competing in Europe.

6. Officially Selfoss remains semi-pro.

7. The weekly wage bill for the whole squad is £2800.

It seems that new stadiums are popular across the whole league, but why? It's neither necessary or affordable? Assuming the stadiums sell out, it's more than possible that 80% of the entire population of Iceland will be at football matches at any one time.

Maybe the loan repayments will cripple the club financially and you'll get a tycoon takeover.

there was something similar happened to a guy oin 08 when he was managing in..errr... Israel i think ??? He managed to keep the club afloat, but only just, turned into a good read watching how his club developed over the years. ill see if i can find the thread...

edit > finally found it!! this is the thread

I've completed my first season as Selfoss in the Icelandic First Division and a surprise news item arrived to inform me of a new stadium build due to be finished the season after next. With a capacity of over 12,000, it will be the third biggest stadium in the country after the national team stadium and one owned by a leading Premier side.

All very good you think, but there's a catch - it costs £10.5 million, apparently split something like £7 million from the club, £3 million in grants and £600,000 from the sale of the old ground, with an addition £250,000 a year coming from ground sponsorship. The club is financing its contribution with a loan that will cost £160,000 a month in repayments for the next fourteen years.

To put this into perspective, all of the below make it look like a crazy decision:

1. The club's income last season was £140,000.

2. The club's balance stands at £1.3 million.

3. Our average attendance last season was 709.

4. There were 66 season ticket holders.

5. We're not even in the top division, let alone regularly competing in Europe.

6. Officially Selfoss remains semi-pro.

7. The weekly wage bill for the whole squad is £2800.

It seems that new stadiums are popular across the whole league, but why? It's neither necessary or affordable? Assuming the stadiums sell out, it's more than possible that 80% of the entire population of Iceland will be at football matches at any one time.

But spending beyond your means is a national trait of Iceland, which is why the country is bankrupt in real life.

low blow =P

Yeah as a West Ham fan i know that first hand

But spending beyond your means is a national trait of Iceland, which is why the country is bankrupt in real life.

Heh heh, it's a bit more complicated than that but the game seems to think otherwise...

Atleast you can get a new stadium, I've been waiting about 5 years.

I am playing with Celta Vigo, took over them 5 years ago and won everything about 5years running, we have 300 odd million in the bank, we are the worlds best team though and we almost always fill up our 45,000 seater stadium, which is around the 8th biggest in Spain. One of my latest games we were only 2 people off the capacity, though the board are reluctant to build a new stadium, it's a joke.

Atleast you can get a new stadium, I've been waiting about 5 years.

I am playing with Celta Vigo, took over them 5 years ago and won everything about 5years running, we have 300 odd million in the bank, we are the worlds best team though and we almost always fill up our 45,000 seater stadium, which is around the 8th biggest in Spain. One of my latest games we were only 2 people off the capacity, though the board are reluctant to build a new stadium, it's a joke.

What do they say when you ask about it?

Atleast you can get a new stadium, I've been waiting about 5 years.

I am playing with Celta Vigo, took over them 5 years ago and won everything about 5years running, we have 300 odd million in the bank, we are the worlds best team though and we almost always fill up our 45,000 seater stadium, which is around the 8th biggest in Spain. One of my latest games we were only 2 people off the capacity, though the board are reluctant to build a new stadium, it's a joke.

I think that the chairman's ambition attribute must be a deciding factor in whether a player gets a new stadium. A chairman with high ambition is likely to look to build a new stadium quickly in the hope it will help to improve their club and ultimately help the club to win trophies.

Seems flawed to me. No matter how ambitious the chairman is he should be able to see that this is madness.