I think that all sports fans the world over are now desperately hoping we have reached the final stages of the pandemic, and it is true to say that some countries of the world are planning to return to some form of normality soon, but sadly some are not.
When it comes to live sporting events, well it all depends on where you live of course as to when you can start attending and visiting them again, but in the UK at least, it is increasingly looking likely that by summer things should get back to normal.
What will not get back to normal though for quite some time according to Adrian Sterne from top 10 sports betting sites is sports sponsorship, for with businesses and some of the big betting sites in the UK pulling their sport sponsorship for at least a year many sports clubs are going to experience a massive drop in income.
It is also debatable whether they are going to be able to plug those gaps in their revenue streams, for with advertisers also looking increasingly likely to also adopt the same approach as sports club sponsors, many clubs are going to be suffering for the foreseeable future.
How Can Sports Clubs Full Their Income Stream Gaps?
Scrambling around looking for new revenue streams is what many sports club owners are doing, and with them being highly unlikely to increase ticket prices to attend their live sporting events, they are somewhat limited regarding how they can plug those gaps.
Packing out their stadiums and sports ground with fans is one way to ensure they get revenue coming in, but they will have to ensure the ticket prices to attend those events are affordable and resist the urge to increase those costs.
Pay to view options may help some clubs, however many fans are going to be put off having to pay to watch their teams and favourite sports clubs playing live on television, so unless some brand new and never thought of before money generators schemes are put into place, it is going to be a tough time for the foreseeable future of many clubs and the sporting industry in general.
Low Cost Government Backed Loans
If it were not for the furlough scheme along with the plethora of different Government back loans that many sports clubs could take full advantage of over the last year, there is no doubt in my mind many of them would not be around to this day.
However, with the furlough scheme and the original loan schemes about to come to an end, and many sports teams and clubs having taken advantage much more so of those low cost loans, many of them have used up the funds they got from them.
Those loans do need paying back unless of course a sports club fails and closes down in which case the Government will step in and will make good those loans to the banks that lent them out, however there is a new loan scheme planed next month, that being the Recovery Loan Scheme.
It may be the case that many sports clubs will want to take advantage of those loans to help them survive, but ultimately, they too much like the original loans, will need paying back, and I doubt there are going to be many sports clubs that will be eager to add to their already mountain of debt by taking out additional loans.
You Can Do Your Bit to Help
With so many sports clubs deep in debt, and with the future looking bleak for many of them, they will of course be eager to get fans and their supporters returning to the sports grounds as possible so that they can at the very least start generating some income through ticket sales.
Even if you have not attended a live sporting event recently, well, let us face it none of us have done for quite some time due to lockdowns, you really will be helping out your local team if you attend their upcoming live events, in fact there may be plenty of offers on the cost of the tickets for those events, so consider going with a gang of your mates, the money you spend on those tickets really will help your team.