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Royal Bounty for Real Madrid <DIV id=ynmain><DIV id=storybody><DIV class=storyhdr>
<SPAN>By Stanley Holmes</SPAN>Mon Aug 14, 8:08 AM ET <DIV class=spacer></DIV></DIV>
Pssstdo you want to know a secret? The world's richest sports franchise has no flamboyant owner pulling the strings like George Steinbrenner does for the New York Yankees. Nor is it graced, like England's Chelsea, with a Russian billionaire who throws cash to acquire players. Of all the surprises and ironies in professional soccer, one of the biggest is that global power Real Madrid is a democratically elected nonprofit association.
That's right. This is the same club that created Team Galactico, a constellation of soccer's brightest global stars all showcasing their prodigious talents at a beautifully sculpted stadium that seats 80,000. This is the same club that broke the bank to attract such stars as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, and David Beckham. After all, Los Blancos, as they are called, have been European champions a record nine times and have won a record 29 La Liga -- Spanish league -- titles. FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, ranked Real Madrid "the 20th century's best club."
The power of the Real Madrid brand can sell out stadiums in the U.S., too. Los Merengues, as they are also called, set the attendance record for soccer at Qwest Field in Seattle (66,830) on Aug. 9 for a friendly match against D.C. United of Major League Soccer. The club is expected to do the same in Salt Lake City on Aug. 12, when it plays the second of two matches on its preseason warm-up tour of the U.S. "We are trying to increase the potential of our brand," says Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon. "The idea is to be more and more popular in the rest of the world. We have been popular in Spain and Europe for a long, long time."
Special Organization. Real Madrid has to find ways to generate revenue while controlling expenses in a sporting industry notorious for its lack of financial discipline. But it is precisely a disciplined financial strategy that saw Real Madrid in 2004/2005 surge ahead of Manchester United as the richest soccer club in the world, according to accounting firm Deloitte, which conducts an annual survey of the world's top 20 soccer clubs. "We are not in the stock exchange," Calderon says. "We don't have millionaires signing the check the moment we lose money. That means every year we need to produce most of the budget with imagination."
For a nonprofit organization, Real Madrid is raking in the dough. The club boosted its revenues 17%, to 275.7 million (equivalent to about $353 million) and earned about $76 million in net profit. That was achieved through the strength of its merchandise licensing, sponsorships, and other commercial sources, according to Deloitte. Jerseys for Real Madrid stars like Beckham are hot sellers around the world. "This is the result of an outstanding transformation in its revenue-generating ability, which has seen revenues double in four years," Deloitte analysts wrote.
The key to this financial transformation has been a business model that is unlike almost any in modern professional sports. Only Spanish rival Barcelona follows a model that is part club, part nonprofit agency, part business enterprise, part sports team, and part public trust. Real Madrid's president is elected every four years by 70,000 club members who must pay an annual fee of $191 and must be season-ticket holders. In Madrid, even season tickets are a bargain compared with most U.S. professional sports -- ranging from as low as $575 to about $1,535. It's no wonder that the Bernabeu stadium, with a capacity of 80,000, has already booked 90% of its seats for the entire season before the first ball has even been kicked.
"It'S Very Romantic." The elective process, of course, makes the position of Real Madrid president one of the most politically powerful in Spain. Calderon, a Madrid attorney and former Real Madrid board member, narrowly won a four-year term in July. Th
<SPAN>By Stanley Holmes</SPAN>Mon Aug 14, 8:08 AM ET <DIV class=spacer></DIV></DIV>
Pssstdo you want to know a secret? The world's richest sports franchise has no flamboyant owner pulling the strings like George Steinbrenner does for the New York Yankees. Nor is it graced, like England's Chelsea, with a Russian billionaire who throws cash to acquire players. Of all the surprises and ironies in professional soccer, one of the biggest is that global power Real Madrid is a democratically elected nonprofit association.
That's right. This is the same club that created Team Galactico, a constellation of soccer's brightest global stars all showcasing their prodigious talents at a beautifully sculpted stadium that seats 80,000. This is the same club that broke the bank to attract such stars as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, and David Beckham. After all, Los Blancos, as they are called, have been European champions a record nine times and have won a record 29 La Liga -- Spanish league -- titles. FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, ranked Real Madrid "the 20th century's best club."
The power of the Real Madrid brand can sell out stadiums in the U.S., too. Los Merengues, as they are also called, set the attendance record for soccer at Qwest Field in Seattle (66,830) on Aug. 9 for a friendly match against D.C. United of Major League Soccer. The club is expected to do the same in Salt Lake City on Aug. 12, when it plays the second of two matches on its preseason warm-up tour of the U.S. "We are trying to increase the potential of our brand," says Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon. "The idea is to be more and more popular in the rest of the world. We have been popular in Spain and Europe for a long, long time."
Special Organization. Real Madrid has to find ways to generate revenue while controlling expenses in a sporting industry notorious for its lack of financial discipline. But it is precisely a disciplined financial strategy that saw Real Madrid in 2004/2005 surge ahead of Manchester United as the richest soccer club in the world, according to accounting firm Deloitte, which conducts an annual survey of the world's top 20 soccer clubs. "We are not in the stock exchange," Calderon says. "We don't have millionaires signing the check the moment we lose money. That means every year we need to produce most of the budget with imagination."
For a nonprofit organization, Real Madrid is raking in the dough. The club boosted its revenues 17%, to 275.7 million (equivalent to about $353 million) and earned about $76 million in net profit. That was achieved through the strength of its merchandise licensing, sponsorships, and other commercial sources, according to Deloitte. Jerseys for Real Madrid stars like Beckham are hot sellers around the world. "This is the result of an outstanding transformation in its revenue-generating ability, which has seen revenues double in four years," Deloitte analysts wrote.
The key to this financial transformation has been a business model that is unlike almost any in modern professional sports. Only Spanish rival Barcelona follows a model that is part club, part nonprofit agency, part business enterprise, part sports team, and part public trust. Real Madrid's president is elected every four years by 70,000 club members who must pay an annual fee of $191 and must be season-ticket holders. In Madrid, even season tickets are a bargain compared with most U.S. professional sports -- ranging from as low as $575 to about $1,535. It's no wonder that the Bernabeu stadium, with a capacity of 80,000, has already booked 90% of its seats for the entire season before the first ball has even been kicked.
"It'S Very Romantic." The elective process, of course, makes the position of Real Madrid president one of the most politically powerful in Spain. Calderon, a Madrid attorney and former Real Madrid board member, narrowly won a four-year term in July. Th
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
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