Everton have just announced that the Hill Dickinson Stadium will be hosting Scotland vs Ivory Coast later this year.
On Tuesday, 31 March, Everton will stage their first-ever senior men’s international friendly at the 52,000-seater.
The clash is a warm-up fixture for the World Cup, which takes place in America, Mexico and Canada this summer.
The Hill Dickinson Stadium is quickly becoming a focal point for big sporting events, having already hosted the Rugby League Ashes back in November.
That said, Everton News spoke exclusively to finance expert Adam Williams to get the lowdown on how much the club could earn from this friendly match in the spring.
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Everton will receive a rental fee for Scotland vs Ivory Coast
Williams has explained that Everton will actually receive a pretty sizable rental fee for staging Scotland vs Ivory Coast.
“The friendly is being organised by Pitch International, who have presumably handled the media rights for this too on behalf of the respective FA’s of Scotland and the Ivory Coast,” Williams said.
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Can you imagine how good a concert would be there!
“Scotland’s matches are broadcast on the BBC under the current contract, though I don’t think that included the March friendlies. I could be wrong on that. I don’t know the specifics.
“Either way, the upside for Everton themselves is clear. Pitch International will pay them a rental fee for the use of the Hill Dickinson Stadium and probably a cut of ticket proceeds too.”
How much cash are Everton estimated to receive?
Williams does note that the club will have some expenses to put on the event, but they’re still expected to earn around the £1m mark.
“The revenue share will be quite complex because Everton outsource the hospitality and catering to Aramark, who give the club a cut as well as a flat fee per season. That deal includes Everton matchdays and events like this friendly.
“In terms of stewarding and other staff, Everton have their own team, so there will be some costs for the club to bear there, which will be factored into the rental fee paid by Pitch International. Then, there’s the cost of logistics.
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“The cheapest tickets are £27 but, looking at the hospitality packages, it goes all the way up to £420 per person. Aramark will probably be looking to generate maybe £3m in revenue for the match, so I think Everton can expect, say, £1m as a rental fee before staff, utility and admin costs, which will eat into the final amount.”
The finance journalist did point out that non-football costs won’t impact the new Squad Cost Ratio Rule, which caps clubs’ spending on player wages, transfers, and agent fees to 85%.
“Under the Premier League’s new SCR rules, however, non-football costs don’t count towards the calculation, but your entire stadium revenue does.
“That’s one of the advantages of the new system for Everton. They’ll be able to spend 85 per cent of everything they earn on the first team, rather than it being a profit-and-loss-based calculation like PSR, which includes other wider costs too.”
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