Word: club
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...June 7, as Roger Federer was on his way to equaling Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam victories by winning the French Open, James Blake and a group of fellow pros watched on a television in the players' lounge at the Aegon Championships at The Queen's Club in London, a warm-up event to Wimbledon. It's hard to imagine NBA stars congregating to cheer on Kobe Bryant, or pro golfers arranging to watch a Tiger Woods play-off, but for Blake and his mates there was no question where their allegiance lay. "We wanted to see Roger...
...even the biggest clubs cannot escape financial pressures completely. KPMG, auditors for the parent company of Premier League runners-up Liverpool, warned in accounts published last week that the firm's need to refinance some $575 million in bank loans - debt stemming from the club's 2007 takeover by American investors - amounted to "a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt on the group's and parent company's ability to continue as a going concern." A deal to roll over the debt is likely; as a storied and well-supported club, Liverpool generates healthy revenues and profits. But difficulty...
...Absent its own benefactor, Real Madrid, the favored club of Spain's establishment, owes its deep pockets to a powerful brand and unrivaled commercial skills. Owned by 80,000 of its supporters, it's the richest soccer club in the world, with revenues of more than $500 million for the 2007-08 season, double the level of seven years ago. Free to negotiate its own broadcast-rights deal - top teams in England or Germany, say, must sell TV rights collectively - Madrid is halfway through a $1.4 billion, seven-year contract with broadcaster Mediapro. (See the 100 best TV shows...
...Locking in long-term revenue is typical in the sports business and crucial to spending during a downturn. Besides the broadcast deal, by far the world's biggest with a single sports club, Madrid has another season left in its three-year shirt-sponsorship contract with online betting company bwin, and kit sponsor Adidas is signed up until 2012. Although commercial revenue dipped as a share of Madrid's takings in 2007-08 - the departure of Englishman David Beckham, who helped increase merchandise profits 137% during his four years with the club, had a lot to do with that...
...Just ask English club West Ham United. Asset-management company CB Holding took over the East London club earlier this week, after its Icelandic owner and chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson lost his trousers in the credit crunch. Iceland's Straumur Bank, CB Holding's major shareholder, is itself in the midst of restructuring after being bailed out by the Icelandic government in March. In Spain, once mighty Valencia is effectively controlled these days by local lender Bancaja, its major creditor, after hapless management and a soured stadium-development plan left the club about $725 million in debt. (See pictures...