Everton’s Chief Commercial and Communications Officer, Richard Kenyon, has provided an update on the Club’s commercial performance, outlining the significant progress being made and the revenue opportunities at the Blues’ new world-class waterfront stadium.
The Club confirmed earlier today it had secured a new sleeve partner, with the innovative streaming platform KICK joining its portfolio of international partners.
The news came on the back of partnership agreements announced earlier this summer with Ticketmaster and eToro and a multi-year extension with Destination Sport Travel and Sportsbreaks.com.
Those deals followed nine new or enhanced commercial partnerships announced by Everton in 2022, including a Club record front-of-shirt agreement with Stake.com.
Talking to evertonfc.com, Kenyon explained how Everton’s commercial income has typically benchmarked the Club around seventh in the Premier League - the highest outside of the teams regularly playing European football.
He says there is a clear strategy being implemented with the aim of maintaining that position and capitalising on the new stadium for a step-change in revenue to close the relative gap on teams above them.
He said: “Our current commercial performance is in a good place. We benchmark well when we compare like-for-like with other clubs. Some clubs will have all their retail and catering revenues in their numbers, whereas ours, due to our long-standing outsourced arrangements, are accounted for differently. Typically, we have benchmarked seventh in the league, which is the highest outside of those clubs regularly competing in European football.
“Today we have announced a new sleeve partner in KICK. This is the highest value sleeve partnership we have done – and it’s an exciting opportunity to work with such a fast-growing global business. The partnership also enables us to enhance our presence in esports and streaming, which in turn will offer opportunities to increase direct and indirect revenues.
“Last summer, we announced our record front-of-shirt agreement with Stake.com – which was also the highest value we have secured for that asset - and we believe that at the time this was the highest value deal secured for a front of shirt partnership outside of those clubs competing regularly in Europe.
“In fact, Stake was one of nine new partnerships or extensions we did last summer, and we are again making progress this off-season with more deals to be announced soon, including deals specifically for our new stadium.
“We are always looking to bring in more revenue, which ultimately helps the team on the pitch. The objective is to make sure the position we are in is sustained and then, crucially, to capitalise on the stadium move to deliver the step-change in commercial income that brings us closer to the clubs above us in terms of commercial income. We have a strong, very experienced team in place at the Club who are fully committed and driven to make this happen.”
Kenyon also paid tribute to Everton’s passionate and loyal fanbase and explained their important role to the Club from a commercial perspective.
Despite a challenging season on the pitch for the Blues last term, Evertonians set a record Season Ticket retention rate of more than 98 per cent for 2023/24.
“I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of our supporters for the commitment they’ve given to the Club, especially during challenging times on the pitch over the past few seasons,” he said.
“The Season Ticket retention rates of more than 98 per cent for 2023/24, the incredible growth in Official Memberships - which have reached record numbers - the retail increases we’ve seen over recent years - including positive kit sales so far this summer - the tribute bricks that will form part of Everton Way at the new stadium… we’ve had phenomenal support from our fans.
“Everyone at the Club is so grateful to have that outstanding level of loyalty and commitment.”
As the Club prepares to mark the second anniversary of work beginning on its new 52,888-capacity new stadium on the banks of the River Mersey, notable progress continues to be made.
The stadium, which is due for completion during the 2024/25 season, remains firmly on schedule, with work to install the final steelwork to the stadium roof having now got under way.
Meanwhile, the internal fit-out of dressing rooms, concourses and the bars and restaurants that will transform Everton’s matchday experience offering continues at pace.
Kenyon has reiterated how the stadium - among those selected for the UK and Ireland’s joint Euro 2028 bid - will be a “game-changer”, offering a wide range of new revenue streams on both matchdays and non-matchdays.
He said: “Aside from partnerships where we are making good progress, there are other opportunities to grow revenue and we’ve been doing that over the past few years, including doing what we can at Goodison in terms of matchday income. Obviously, the new stadium gives us an opportunity to really take that on and improve it even further. It’s a game-changer for the Club in many ways but particularly from a commercial perspective.
“The new stadium will provide us with greater opportunities in terms of more Season Tickets being available, as well as the increased number and variety of premium experiences. The non-matchday opportunities with our new stadium are significant, too. It will be a world-class facility with the capability to be a true 365-day a year venue through tours, events, conferences, and concerts, be that in the stadium itself or on the fan plaza. All that will bring both increased revenue and different audiences."
“The new stadium will also have a positive impact on the type of partners we will be able to attract and develop,” he added. “Stadium naming rights will be an option that hasn’t been available to us at Goodison Park and with that comes significant revenue, as do some of the founding partnership opportunities we have.
“We are hugely excited by the new stadium and what it will bring for the fans, and what it will bring to the Club commercially.”
