Foxes boost Leicester economy

A report by Ernst & Young suggests that Leicester City’s surprise capture of the Premier League title boosted the Leicestershire economy by more than £140m over the past football season.  Of the £140m Gross Value Added. £110m was generated directly by the club, its community activities and match day tourism.

A report by Ernst & Young suggests that Leicester City’s surprise capture of the Premier League title boosted the Leicestershire economy by more than £140m over the past football season.  Of the £140m Gross Value Added. £110m was generated directly by the club, its community activities and match day tourism.

About 120,000 visitors came to the city to see the team play.    The club’s European fixtures this season are expected to attract as many as 100,000 international tourists to the region.  During the season, Leicester City is said to have supported 2,500 jobs in the local area.  Its success helped to generate £78m in tax revenues.   

Ernst & Young estimated that the club’s total economic output for the season was £193m, of which £95m came from broadcast rights.   The club’s success also did a great deal to raise the city’s previously low international profile.

Perhaps a little caution is needed about the study given that it was commissioned by the club and the Premier League.   For example, do the jobs figures reflect genuinely additional jobs or jobs that would have existed anyway?  How many of them were part-time or casual?  I have not seen the methodology for the study, but the word used is ‘supporting’ jobs not ‘creating’ them.

I am sure that Leicester City’s success has boosted the local economy, but I am less confident about how precise one can be in putting numbers on this success.