Manchester City sets new revenue landmark

Manchester City has set another Premier League revenue benchmark as it continues to drive forward with efforts to create “an entire entertainment destination” at Etihad Campus.

City has today (Friday) released its annual report for the 2023-24 season, with total revenue for the year ending June 30, 2024 reaching £715m (€862.4m/$903.1m). This is an increase of £2.2m over the prior year, with growth across commercial and matchday revenues.

Matchday revenue was £75.6m, an increase of £3.7m. This was despite only 26 home games being played across three competitions (UEFA Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup) at Etihad Stadium, compared to 31 in the prior year. The rise comes with City fans having campaigned against rising ticket prices, a common theme across the Premier League, with a call for season ticket price freezes at a time when the club’s finances are thriving.

Broadcasting revenue slipped to £294.7m, a decrease of £4.7m. The club put this down to its quarter final Champions League exit in 2023-24, compared to its triumph in the competition the previous campaign.

Other commercial revenue was £344.7m, an increase of £3.3m over the prior year, due to both new partners and growth in value of existing ones. City is currently fighting a host of charges by the Premier League concerning alleged financial wrongdoing.

City’s net profit for 2023-24 stood at £73.7m, down from last year’s £80.4m. However, this means the club has now reported a profit in every year since the 2014-15 season, with the exception of the short-term impact of COVID-19 to the business, which saw a loss of £126m reported for 2019-20.

Investment in infrastructure remains a core focus for the club, with work commencing during the financial year on the £300m expansion of Etihad Stadium, as part of a wider project to develop a best-in-class fan experience and year-round entertainment destination at Etihad Campus.

Significant progress was made in the latter half of the season, as the first steels were installed, and the hotel cores went up on site. City last month provided an update on the North Stand expansion project as the new steel structure was officially attached and bolted to the existing stadium.

The redevelopment and expansion project will see the club add a third tier to the North Stand, as well as installing a 3,000-capacity fan zone, a 400-bed hotel, a new club shop and a museum at Etihad Campus. The expansion, set to be completed during the 2025-26 season, will see the Etihad Stadium capacity increase from 53,400 to more than 60,000.

Once complete, the club’s expanded stadium and new world-class facilities will sit alongside the 23,500-capacity arena, Co-op Live, a joint venture between City Football Group and Oak View Group which finally opened in May following a difficult path to delivery. 

Manchester City chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, said: “Our focus remains on further evolution and growth and therefore further value creation in all aspects of our business. Infrastructure has been, and always will be, an important focus and in particular the Etihad Campus ecosystem.

“The current £300m expansion of the north stand of the stadium builds on our investment in the Co-op Live arena, and will result in the creation of an entire entertainment destination. Additionally, our new dedicated women’s training facility, scheduled to open during the 2025-26 season, will sit within an expanded City Football Academy, and reflect our ongoing commitment to the women’s game and our wish to win titles and set standards.

“Our experience in developing and executing a world-class infrastructure strategy for Manchester City over the last 16 years has informed similar strategies that we are implementing at the 12 other clubs that now make up the City Football Group.

“For example, our stadium in New York, scheduled for completion in 2027, and our new City Football Academies in Melbourne, Girona and Palermo, all benefit from the MCFC journey. In turn, the insights we generate across the CFG organisation in all areas of our operations help us to evolve in Manchester. The momentum of complementary value creation, that we always envisaged for the group, is now real and creating billions of pounds of value.”

City CEO, Ferran Soriano, added: “Locally, our games at the Etihad Stadium continue to offer fantastic matchdays experiences, with our Fanzone ranked the league’s best for the third consecutive year.

“Supporters can already see the construction of the transformative £300m north stand expansion, that will increase the capacity to over 60,000, introducing a hotel, restaurants and other attractions. Together with our Co-op Live concert arena, opened this year, this will constitute an all-year-round entertainment destination that we are sure will amaze visitors.”