‘Exam’ for the new Bernabéu

On May 19, 2022, Real Madrid announced a decisive move for its future. The new Santiago Bernabéu would be operated by Sixth Street and Legends. An investment firm and a company in charge of empowering stadium management through high-end experiences. 360 million euros for the white club and, in exchange, 30% of the profits obtained for 20 yearsas reported by Financial Times, by the entity chaired by Florentino Pérez, thanks to the agreement, will go to the coffers of Sixth Street. A pairing that has gone hand in hand since the US fund bought 51% of Legends at the beginning of 2021 and that is also behind the Soccer Champions Tour and the AT&T Stadium that hosts the crown jewel of the tour, the Clásico. It will be a good day for Real Madrid to observe first-hand how its partners manage large events. A kind of ‘exam’ to see how far the new Bernabéu can go.

AT&T is an imposing colossus, the epitome of the global success of dallas cowboys. One of the keys for the five-time NFL champion (the 1971, 1977, 1992, 1993 and 1995 flags adorn the roof of the venue) to be the most valuable sports entity in the world year after year. According to the latest study of ForbesSeptember 2022, They lead the ranking with an appraisal of 8,000 million dollars. AND in fourth place are the New York Yankees, valued at 6,000 million dollars. What do the Yankees paint here?, they will say. Legends was founded in 2008 by the owners of the Cowboys and the New York baseball team, precisely to increase income through new exploitation strategies of, among other things, its stadiums. The result is obvious to the eye.

You have to temper the euphoria and be aware that the context of Real Madrid would be different. But if the whites show up, with $5.1 billion, like the 13th most valuable entity on the planet, the first soccer team and the first non-American, its global impact is indisputable. As So is Barcelona, ​​15th with 5,000 million dollars. For something the prices of the Classic in this SCT were astronomical -an average ticket of 500 euros one month before the meeting, with VIP options of up to 3,200 euros-.

Besides, the Barça has another agreement sealed with Legends although in this case it is less important: the idea is to improve the VIP boxes and seats at the Camp Nou and their marketing. Without forgetting that they have also shaken hands with Sixth Street, to whom they have sold 10% and 15% of the club’s television rights over the next 25 years in two different levers in exchange for 207.5 million euros and about 315 million euros estimated (has not been confirmed) respectively. In the boxes of the AT&T Stadium, with the staff of Sixth Street, Legends, Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​not only football will be discussed.

American model

The pharaonic work to which the Santiago Bernabéu is undergoing It has two master lines, the roof and the retractable grass that will make the Madrid stadium beat 365 days a year. For this, the association with Sixth Street and Legends, the organizers of the Soccer Champions Tour in question, has been established to squeeze all the juice and potential out of the white arena. AT&T is roofed, grass is amended on demand. In fact, the artificial one used by the Cowboys is replaced by a natural one to go from soccer to the football.

If the current Bernabéu is only used every 15 days, the AT&T has a billboard worthy of the cinemas of other times: Two Metallica concerts (August 18 and 20), a meeting of the Mexican team (against Australia, September 9), Beyonce and her Renaissance World Tour (September 21), a Monster Jam (October 14)… And all this truffled by the local games of the Cowboys and without the plus of the Bernabéu: its situation. AT&T is in Arlington, a city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The Santiago Bernabéu, on Paseo de la Castellana, in the heart of Madrid. An American model that Florentino Pérez is going to implement.