Issues with the board in a smaller club

Hi, I've been managing the Norwegian team Aalesund for quite some time now. I'm in 2016

My issues:

- The board won't upgrade my stadium beyond 15000. They respond, "because of space, it'll never happen" or something similar - never happen? So I'm not allowed to progress the club beyond a certain point?

- Two seasons ago, I asked for the training facilities youth - and - senior, to be upgraded.. the board said they'd look at it - but nothing has happened, and upon querying them again, they said that they're already considering it..

Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for any response.

If there is no more space to expand/the council block it, that's it, n more expanding for you. The next option is to make a new stadium, but you'd need to need higher attendance figures and the club to have enough money for that to happen.

Hm.. I'm having around 14500 of the 15000 capacity in all games..

How much cash is needed for the new stadium, do you happen to know?

Thanks

A hell of a lot!

Don't know exact numbers, you'd need to be well off I think.

Hm.. I'm having around 14500 of the 15000 capacity in all games..

How much cash is needed for the new stadium, do you happen to know?

Thanks

I hear its about 250 million quid, coverted into whatever currency. I dont think anyone really knows for definate.

That's an impossibility, unless there's a way of loaning the money or receiving a stadium sponsor.

consistantly get to latter stages of Champions league. Apart from that there isn't too much you can do, at the end of the day you're a small club, without the finances to build a new one and without the space to expand.

As for the upgrades, sounds like a waiting game

check the thread "board just named teh stadium after me", 274m for that new stadium

Hm. In reality, Aalesund financed their current stadium (11k capacity) through sponsors - for a smaller club that's the window of possibility. Actually 'earning' 274 million on ticket sales and player sales is.. crazy.

When a club does well and is popular, there could be a possibility of the board engaging in talks to round up sponsors for a bigger stadium in the game. The message of 'never' being able to expand my stadium beyond 15k was a big turnoff. I wanted to make a top 3 club out of Aalesund

That's an impossibility, unless there's a way of loaning the money or receiving a stadium sponsor.

I'd like to see the board willing to be more aggressive with regards to taking out new loans.

The purpose of building a new stadium seems, to me, to be worth taking a risk on. In a case like this, it may not be reasonable to achieve 274M in the bank, but it is certainly reasonable to expect something like 50M in the bank, and to take out a loan for the remaining 200M.

Yes, its a risk. Yes, the club may do a Leeds.

However:

A. I think its fun for the player-manager to have to work against a financial constraint such as paying off a large loan - especially if they have been able to receive the benefits, such as a new stadium and world class training facilities.

B. I think its fun to take over a club which has fallen because of aggressive debt. You need to do what you an do to clear wage bill, raise capital, and potentially earn promotion; doing so against the backdrop of a crushing debt is a good challenge.

C. It prevents the save-game from becoming "stale" due to having "too much" cash on hand (for the league) while being unable to attract top players to the team.

D. Its a realistic investment for a team - even if the realistic investment is simply a new stadium of similar capacity to the current one, but all-new facilities.

. .

To make that fun, the board would need to become a little bit smarter. We wouldn't want the board taking such a risk all the time, or buying the club into a debt which it was impossible to overcome. Ambition and Business Sense should certainly play into it.

I'd suggest the following:

A. An ambitious board should certainly view taking out a loan for the purpose of financing a stadium as a beneficial step, especially if the club does not currently own a stadium or if it has been filling the capacity of a stadium which cannot be filled.

- Business Sense should be used to moderate the amount and length of the loan the board are willing to take. A "smart" board would not invest more than they were confident that they could repay, while an unwise board might be willing to get the club "in too deep".

B. When things are going poorly, a board which owns its own stadium needs to be willing to sell the stadium to raise cash. This is a short-term gain but a long-term loss, as it leads to the expense of a rental arrangement. Ground share might also be a possibility.

C. The board needs to communicate what it is thinking in significantly more detail. I'd definitely like to hear a five-year development plan from my board on a regular (annual?) basis. I'd like to see this phrased more as a financial / business plan, treating the club as a business venture and discussing things like

- status of current loans

- targets for stadium proposals

- targets for early loan repayment

- prospects for next sponsorship deal

- prospects for future investment from current chairman

- prospects for future transfer budgets

- likelihood of needing to sell players for transfer income

That gives us the context, the larger picture.

D. Finally, I'd like to see some boards with real financial targets - for example, a board whose primary mandate is make money, turn a profit, rather than performance on the pitch.

I hear its about 250 million quid, coverted into whatever currency. I dont think anyone really knows for definate.

I got one for £13m.

I would guess it varies depending on the nation, the size built, the facilities (particularly corporate) and whether a sponsorship deal is arranged.

The sale of the old stadium probably plays a role too.

I got a new stadium for Monopoli (ex Serie C2/C in Italy) for 100M, which was "partially funded by the sale of the Vito Simone Veneziani stadium which was sold for 672K".

The Board took out a loan too to buy the new stadium so you don't have to have that much money in the bank. I think my bank balance at the time was around 5M-10M.

The new stadium has 27K capacity, so for larger stadiums it would cost more I believe.

Well written posts here, thank you - the frustration has its source mainly in the fact that I get so little information flowing out from the board itself - they say No.. we'll never do that. and that's the end of that. I don't get the information of.. say.. If I reach 30million, they will loan the rest. It's kind of a dead end if you understand what I mean.

I absolutely agree that the board must be smarter, and also, they should communicate more with the player concerning these rather important issues of a clubs future. They have the numbers, the stadium is almost full ever single week, for years and years. I need information to know what I'm supposed to do next, now my effort to build a small club to a known club been halted significantly.

I'm positively surprised to here that the number may vary depending on the size of stadium, and yes, that makes sense. But, what doesn't make sense is that the board doesn't even have a suggestion or thought on the matter, they just say, because of space, that'll never happen. Sponsors, loans and city backing can make a lot happen, the reality of Aalesunds new stadium proves that..

I wonder if you guys think the same? Just knowing what it takes, lets me decide whether or not I want to try or if it isn't worth it. I don't know if I will enjoy playing season after season to save up 100M, that's a lot for a club with a small stadium to begin with - and it's tough to last long in tournaments.