England: €8.8m loss for Wembley Stadium in first seven months of 2013

London's Wembley Stadium (capacity 90,000) lost £7.2m (€8.8m) in 2013, the UK website This Is Money reported on 03/05/2014. Wembley Stadium changed its accounting so that its year end coincides with the end of the football season. The 2013 financial year will thus be understood as the first seven months of 2013 (from 01/01 to 31/07/2013). Wembley Stadium belongs to the FA (Football Association).

The loss for 2013 was less than that of 2012 (£7.8m, or about €9.5m). It is attributable to the loan to rebuild the stadium from 2004 to 2007. FA paid £12m (€14.7m) to repay the loan in the first seven months of 2013. Total outstanding bank loans still total £274m (€334m). The stadium construction cost was estimated at £757m (€926m).

Operating income amounted to £8m (approximately €9.8m) in 2013, compared to £13m (about €15.9m) in 2012, a drop of 38.5% (but this is for seven months instead of 12).

A major partnership with the telecommunications group EE concluded on 26/02/2014 should help Wembley Stadium to pay down the loan. EE will pay €4.9m per year until 2020, notably for promotion on…