Sport will get hit by the coronavirus

Sport will get hit big time by the coronavirus.
Let us look at some professional sports and then community sports.

let us go go the UK.
The EPL is the biggest professional league in the world.
Their revenue streams come from:

1. Their owner likely to be a billionaire
2. Their sponsors
3. Spectators paying to watch in home games
4. Merchandise i.e shirts etc
5. TV for EPL and champions league
6. membership 'fees'

All five will come under pressure from the effects of the lockdown inducing depressions around the world.

This means all clubs will have revenue problems. Players contracts will have to be changed and downgraded until football becomes 'normal' again. Any re-start of competitions will need at the minimum weekly testing of players for the virus as will occur in Germany.

Now clubs not in the EPL will be much more affected. They will either have none of 1), 2). 4) and 5) or very little. 

Without matches their income stream is nothing. This puts a lot of financial strain on all clubs  not in the EPL, More so if they are in the lower divisions. Some may not survive.

  

Let us come back to OZ. First here is Scott Heinrich on our situation.

I tend to agree.

If we take the four winter codes then 1) will be minimal. 2) is important. 3) is only important for AFL, 4) is minimal as Australia is a small market ,5) is the biggest  for all and 6) is again only important for AFL.

Thus we can see why the AFL is the most relaxed code and why the NRL desperately wants to start its competition although it is hard to envisage how they can obviate the health issues as the Budesliga has attempted for example

It could have dire consequences more for Rugby but also for the A-League.

This pandemic will force every sport to diversify their revenue streams. Surely most will put a larger effort into attracting larger crowds. For example I'm told the break even crowd for  Sydney FC was 15,000. This would have changed since the sports ground is no longer available. I would be aiming for crowds of 20k for big matches and break even for games that are less so.

Either way.the future will change significantly. It is very important to note none were prepared for a rainy day let alone a bloody snow storm!

Now let us take a walk within community sports. Here I will deal with what may occur where I live,

Whether it be football or cricket the main sponsors for clubs are either pubs of clubs. They get money and the quid pro quo is a significant number of players drink at their establishment after the game. A win-win so to speak.

This simply will not occur. All these businesses will be  the last open. They need to build up both their profitability, cashflow and cash reserves.

Also and very important the number of players could wel be well down. A lot will not have a job. some might want to give the reduced season away ( more on that later) and wait for next season.

This also means the famous sporting BBQ might not get the much needed revenue for clubs as well.

Now I hear football wants to play a full season when it restarts. This would mean finals in November, This would mean  cricket and football fighting for the sane grounds.

Will councils increase their charges to sports? Will membership fees and fees for officials such as referees and umpires fall?

I think any winter sport would be mad to attempt to start their competition. It would be cactus as soon as the first virus victim is found.

Either way the future for sport is quite mixed.