February 13 – Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Chinese-owned club with a deep and somewhat uncomfortable link to player agent Jorge Mendes, has further outlined plans for the redevelopment of its 32,000 capacity Molineux Stadium.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wolves chief executive Laurie Dalrymple and chairman Jeff Shi talked about expansion of the ground to 45-50,000 in a series of staged developments that could begin as early as this summer.
The objective of the stadium redevelopment is to drive club revenue streams towards a sustainable economic model – to date the club’s resurgence has been the result of the Chinese money and Mendes’ significant influence in the player market.
“Fosun (the owners) are ultimately an investment company so it is within their DNA and make-up that they’re going to want us to be completely self-sufficient at some point, if that point has not already arrived,” said Dalrymple.
“So we have to be partnering with the right people, we have to be finding the right level of investment into this football club and we have to be establishing the right relationships with the right stakeholders. We can’t do it all on our own.”
Redevelopment of the ground relies on city support as well as the buy-in from other local stakeholders. “A big part of it is going to centre around the infrastructure within the city and not just the football club. We have been having long discussions with the council, the university, other key stakeholders in the area, the people we are going to be reliant on for this to develop,” said Dalrymple.
The ground redevelopment also hinges on the continued on-field performance of the club and its ability to perform at the higher end of the Premier League. Having gained promotion from the Championship last season, Wolves are good for their seventh position in the Premier League and are in the last 16 of the FA Cup which many of the clubs above them in the league have sacrificed in favour of other objectives. The potential of silverware is very real this season.
“We see a benchmark that this club could grow to a 45,000-50,000 capacity in the medium to long term if we continue on the trajectory that we’re continuing on,” said Dalymple.
“So that means bringing the right players in, getting the right development through the academy, getting the right results, performing at the right end of the table, having consolidated our position in the short term. And if we do that, we can see there is a clear pathway that will take us through to something that will be in the high 40,000s.”
Shi said: “The most important thing is to have enough capacity. 40,000-50,000 is not a problem by my understanding. Wolves is like a sleeping giant…Regarding the long-term we want to be one of the best in Europe, but you have to do everything step by step.”
Fosun bought the club for £30 million in 2017 and so far those steps have been pretty rapid. No cost has been put on the ground redevelopment but for Wolves to stay within financial fair play limits if it is to invest in its playing squad to become “one of the best in Europe”, it will need the revenue boost that a bigger, modern stadium can bring. It is unlikely to be able to rely on the providence of Mendes’ agency to that extent without attracting the further attention of football’s regulators.
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