Brighton and Hove Albion’s first season in the Premier League generated an estimated £212 million for the local economy.
The football club said that it supported 2,200 jobs in 2017-18, directly employing 1,051 staff, with a further 814 working for its main contractor Sodexo.
The club is now the fourth-largest employer in the Brighton area.
In a report published today (Thursday 18 July) the club said: “It contracted with over 500 businesses, many of them local suppliers.
“Along with football club-related tourism, this helped to support over 330 further jobs in the Greater Brighton economy.”
The club said: “Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club’s rise from the brink of non-existence to the Premier League is one of the great renaissance stories of English football.
“Its social and economic contributions are less well known but they are critically important to the Greater Brighton city region.
“The foundations to Premier League promotion were laid by connecting the club tightly to its local community, developing a shared vision with local residents, making brave and ambitious investment decisions to develop award-winning community sports facilities and securing the support of public sector partners to turn these investment plans into reality.
“The club’s £160 million of capital investment has created a significant number of local jobs, strengthened community cohesion and built the American Express Community Stadium and the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre.
“The Football Club has become one of Greater Brighton’s major international businesses, contributing £212 million to the city region’s economy, including £50 million of export income.
“Direct revenue soared from just under £30 million in 2016-17 to nearly £150 million in 2017-18, enabling the club to make a step change in the contribution that it makes to the local economy.
“The football club is one of the fastest-growing private sector businesses in the Greater Brighton city region.
“The club contributed over £54 million to HM Treasury in taxes and national insurance contributions in 2017-18 including £1 million in local business rates.
“These tax contributions would be enough to pay the salaries of over 2,000 band 6 nurses or build nine new primary schools.”
Albion chairman Tony Bloom said: “When we commenced the planning of our new stadium in 1997, the board published a ‘vision’ which included our aspirations to build a stadium which would provide ‘state of the art facilities, to ensure a better visitor and club supporter experience’ and it would ‘create jobs, increase visitors and provide important and worthwhile community benefits’.
“During the long public inquiries we predicted the stadium would deliver £23.5 million into the local economy and 750 jobs.
Just the other day EX Councillor Julie Cattell was on here saying how She had impemented the application for The beginning of the Joint Venture.She didn’t mention her casting vote which scuppered the building of a Hotel which would have brought even more income into The City thats without Business Rates and Jobs created,well done Her.
They have done a fantastic job – better than most people ever dreamed they would.
Some tweaks on the marketing side of things but what a tremendous superstructure Tony Bloom has put in place – not just a magnificent, modern stadium.
If only the council was run in a similar way as currently it is not fit for purpose – the electoral system simply does not work… people should be qualified to serve on the council – not the deluded, self-serving egotists with no grip on reality and not one iota of common sense – the state of the place is truly shocking and shameful