There’s no democratic element to any of this: it’s Britain’s astonishingly poisonous media outlets and their tame politicians, who they can destroy whenever they want, hand in hand with billionaire-funded crackpot activists. Gangsters, musing about one carelessly dropped match.

Well. If you do write a deep dive on all this Dan, I’m looking forward to reading it!

But clubs don’t seem able to make enough with the current arrangements.

I assume then that it’s different from Italy where clubs pay rent and tax and a (sizeable) portion of all revenue from use?

All I know is Juventus building their own stadium changed their situation massively. 😕

Could the clubs not propose local governments help slightly with that, in exchange for making the stadia available for emergencies and local events?

Surely there’s a deal to be made that lessens costs for local governments and helps teams raise revenue?

I think there’s a deal to be made there.

Especially in the “provinces” where land is cheaper and upkeep is a drain on local governments who will continue to need more money for elder care over sports facilities.

There are so many white-elephant athletic stadia around waiting for redevelopment.

FURTHERMORE, why haven’t teams at least offered to arrange a “mortgage payment plan” with cities? So they can eventually own the stadiums, even if it takes a while to pay off the loan? Too risky?

Also surprised to learn Kyoto don’t own their stadium. I thought that was the point of it being built?

This sounds like an interesting piece. I’d be intrigued to know how keen J-League teams are to own their own grounds, and how reluctant cities are to sell “community assets”.

Based on the Italian situation, owning your own ground seems like an essential step for growth. Is it true though?

There’s the journalist among us! ❤️

They also own their own ground, well their parent company does, and so even though it’s small, they keep all the money from it.
Did wonder why they hadn’t planned on moving. I mean, City Football Station is a beautiful place to play, but it’s miles from anywhere.

Sorry to geg in, but I have a question.
Who actually owns Tochigi City? I’ve never been able to find any legit information about their ownership.

Always wondered how a club with a (relatively) tiny ground in the middle of nowhere suddenly started rocketing up the leagues.

Honestly, this is it right here.

Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: yes, my job is 87% vibes and 0% consequences
Managers: yes, I spend half my time managing up and never got proper training to manage down
Workers: only the 27% of the time I waste justifying my job to my boss

GenAI is TPS reports.