Premier passions great for region

Jun 3 2005 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

Next season we will have three Premiership football teams in the region. Great news not only for fans but also, it seems, for investors, businesses and property owners.

Football has become an industry in its own right - pumping millions into the local economy and boosting local morale as well as house prices. It is said that investors should follow the fortunes of football teams if they want to identify future property hotspots.

Having one football team in the Premiership undoubtedly puts a city on the map. Having three in the region is the best possible news for the North-East.

Football is a driving passion that can push up or drive down productivity at manufacturing plants and offices with remarkable regularity. Each of the three football clubs has a physical presence in its city or town that mirrors its domination of the hearts of local people. The Stadium of Light looks over Sunderland with four permanent gas flames illuminating the night sky. The Riverside at Middlesbrough is one of the area's new landmarks, already extended twice since it opened a decade ago. St James's Park is the venerable old man of the North-East, having outlived both Sunderland's Roker Park and Middlesbrough's Ayresome Park, and is considered by many to be the finest stadium in England.

Now these three stunning stadiums will be seen by millions on television and by thousands of fans who follow their teams to North-East fixtures. The players, the fans and the places in which local football teams play the game make a lasting impression on television and tourist audiences - providing the region with priceless advertising each week of the season. I sincerely hope this is the first of many seasons in which all three clubs will vie for high places in the Premiership. For the clubs, the price of relegation from the Premiership is clear - thanks to the huge difference in television revenue. Relegation means a drop in income of at least £10m, while sides going the other way can look forward to a windfall of £25m even if they come straight back down.

Each match day, around 150,000 Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough fans pour into the multi-million pound stadiums. Their loyalty deserves the highest praise of all, turning up to matches despite comprehensive television coverage, highly priced season tickets and freezing temperatures.

Nicholas Craig is a partner at Watson Burton LLP.