The financial benefits of being in the Premiership are demonstrated by the profit after tax of £14.6m on a turnover of £65.2m achieved by Swansea City in their first year in the top flight. This in spite of the fact that operating costs, particularly wages, doubled following promotion. However, in their promotion year the Swans made a net loss of £8.3m.
The financial benefits of being in the Premiership are demonstrated by the profit after tax of £14.6m on a turnover of £65.2m achieved by Swansea City in their first year in the top flight. This in spite of the fact that operating costs, particularly wages, doubled following promotion. However, in their promotion year the Swans made a net loss of £8.3m.
The net profit was boosted by the £5m compensation packages received from Liverpool for manager Brendan Rodgers, assistant boss Colin Pascoe and other members of the management staff who went to Anfield. The figure does not include the £15m sale of Wales midfielder Joe Allen to Liverpool in August.
For a smaller club, the challenge is always to stay in the Premiership. This is exacerbated in the case of Swansea by the fact that the Liberty Stadium can accommodate only 20,600, limiting matchday ticket revenue.
There are plans in place to increase its capacity to 32,000 over a phased two-year period, providing that the club stays up. The catchment area is not that densely populated, but in the Premier League it is possible to get good away crowds for most of the teams.