Sir Howard hits back over stadium deal criticism

SIR HOWARD Bernstein has launched a staunch defence of the deal with Manchester City FC, which allowed the football club to sell the naming rights to the publicly-owned City of Manchester stadium.

Manchester City Council chief executive Bernstein told TheBusinessDesk.com that critics should instead be looking at the amount of money the Olympics and Wembley Stadium have received from the public purse – and the fact that neither had generated “a single penny in return.”

He said: “The stadium that we built for the Commonwealth Games cost around £120m, and we have generated, and continue to generate a significant return from that investment.

“The question should not be about whether Howard should’ve got an extra thirty or forty grand – but that not one other sports-led investment project has generated a single penny.

“What ever I have got is a hell of a lot more than any other sports-led  investment.”

He said the council’s agreement with Manchester City had already generated between £10 and £15m for council coffers, and the deal renegotiated this year – which allowed the club to sell the naming rights deal for the City of Manchester Stadium to Middle East airline Etihad – would take the rental income from £2m to £4m a year for the next 10 years.

Bernstein was speaking after the size of the council deal, compared to theSir Howard Bernstein reported £350m naming rights and sponsorship agreement between Manchester City FC and Etihad.

Since then, Manchester City has submitted a detailed planning application to build a new training and academy facility on former industrial site in East Manchester, representing an investment of more than £100m over the next five years.

Bernstein added: “Some of the media coverage you read regarding Manchester City bears no relationship to the world we live in – some of it is born out of jealousy.”

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