Chapter 712 The Real Explosive News

"hello!"

While Saints Harry and John were conspiring and discussing about the bar in Southampton, at the door of the studio at the BBC TV headquarters in London, the Sun's top reporter Steven Howard smiled and handed a bottle of water to Charlene Lahiri who was walking out of the studio.

"Ha, Steven, you seem to be coming to our place quite frequently lately!"

Barbara Slater, the director of the sports department, who followed Charlene Lahre out, joked playfully, winking at Charlene Lahre and curling her lips, "Are you planning to pursue our Taiwanese beauty?"

"Taiwanese flower?" Steven Howard was stunned and a little surprised.

"The Flower of Television!" Barbara Slater laughed. "Not long ago, our BBC staff voted for her. Charlene deserves the title!"

"Oh, come on!" Steven Howard slapped his forehead vigorously, "If you really vote like this, she should be our favorite?"

"Circle of flowers? What does that mean?" Barbara Slater was completely confused.

"The flower of the football media circle!" Steven Howard couldn't help laughing when he said the last sentence.

Barbara Slater and Charlene Lahiri were thoroughly amused.

"Okay, okay, stop joking and talk about serious things!" Charlene Lahiri interrupted the teasing unhappily.

Steven Howard did hint at his affection for her, but unfortunately, she rejected him from the beginning, so now the two of them can only be considered good friends and colleagues, and there can be no other relationship between them.

Because there is no room for anyone else in her heart!

"Okay, you guys chat, I'm going to go back first!" Barbara Slater said nothing more, apologized and left.

Charlene Lahiri pointed to a room next to the studio and walked in.

Steven Howard quickly followed in and said with a smile, "After your show is broadcast, it will definitely cause controversy again. You'd better be mentally prepared!"

"Why?" Charlene Lahri unscrewed the bottle cap and drank a sip of water gracefully.

"It's simple, you almost praised Southampton to perfection on the show!" Steven Howard laughed.

Charlene Lahiri smiled sweetly, "Isn't it too much to not allow people to praise me for my good performance?"

"Besides, everyone who likes my show knows that I am a Saint Party member through and through. They should have been prepared for this!"

Steven Howard shook his head and laughed helplessly. He was mentally prepared because Charlene Lahiri was a well-known diehard and a die-hard Southampton fan.

"All four Premier League teams participating in the Champions League this year successfully advanced from the group stage, but Manchester City lost 0-2 to Barcelona at home in the first leg, Arsenal lost 0-2 to Bayern Munich in the first leg, Manchester United lost 0-2 to Olympiacos in the first leg away, and only Southampton beat Galatasaray 6-0 away."

At this point, Charlene Lahiri shrugged her shoulders and spread her hands. "Tell me, am I exaggerating?"

Steven Howard was also helpless. It was not that the opponent was too strong, but that we were too weak.

The performance of the Premier League teams in the Champions League group stage is actually not too bad. Southampton was lucky in the draw and did not draw any strong teams. They played steadily with five wins and one win. There is nothing much to say.

Although the strength of the group that Manchester United is in is relatively evenly matched, with Manchester United's strength, they should have qualified. Therefore, Moyes' Red Devils qualified with four wins and two draws, unbeaten, and also ranked first in the group.

As for Manchester City, meeting Bayern Munich can only be regarded as Manchester City's bad luck, but even so, Manchester City still achieved an impressive record of five wins, one loss and fifteen points, the same as Bayern Munich, but in the end, because Bayern Munich scored more goals in the duel between the two teams, they won the first place in the group and advanced.

Arsenal encountered the group of death, but the Gunners' performance was also not bad, with four wins and two losses, and the same points as Dortmund and Napoli. As a result, due to the match relationship, Arsenal finally ranked behind Dortmund, while Napoli was forced to play in the Europa League.

It can be said that the performances of the four Premier League teams in the Champions League group stage this season have all been quite impressive.

But who could have imagined that once entering the knockout stage, the performance would decline drastically.

If it is reasonable for Manchester City and Arsenal to lose as the second-best teams in their group and then meet strong teams like Bayern Munich and Barcelona, ​​then Manchester United's 2-0 away loss to Olympiacos was totally unacceptable.

Because Olympiacos is recognized as the weakest team among the 16 teams that entered the knockout stage.

As a result, just when everyone thought that Manchester United was lucky and advanced to the quarterfinals, Moyes played a big joke on the whole world.

What's even more frightening is that the Red Devils Manchester United have completely fallen out of the top five in the Premier League this season. Let alone competing for the top four in the league, it may be difficult for them to even qualify for the Europa League.

Originally, everyone expected Moyes to make a difference in the Champions League and continue his excellent form in the group stage, but now, this crushing defeat has made everyone realize that Moyes is not Ferguson after all, and cannot be Ferguson.

When it comes to talking, Steven Howard can't even keep up with Charlene Lahiri.

So, every time, he could only surrender!

"Well, I can't beat you anyway!" The chief reporter of The Sun had no choice but to admit defeat.

Charlene Lahiri smiled noncommittally, "Tell me, what do you want from me?"

"I heard that Southampton has been making some big moves recently!" Steven Howard said tentatively.

Charlene Lahiri thought to herself, it's all about the Saints, and raised her eyebrows, "You already know everything, and you're still asking me?"

Steven Howard was depressed. "Miss, I can only find out some details. I didn't find anything at all. If you don't give me some information, Rebekah will definitely skin me alive when I go back!"

Charlene Lahiri's mind conjured up the image of the devil editor-in-chief Rebekah Wade, and she immediately started giggling.

"Well, tell me, what have you found out?" Charlene Lahiri also began to get information.

Steven Howard thought for a moment and said, "My informant told me a piece of definite news. Southampton is going to cooperate with Harrods in London. I don't know the specific cooperation project, but I guess, I guess..."

Charlene Lahri nodded and said, “Yes, Harrods will be in Southampton’s new stadium!”

This statement is equivalent to confirming Steven Howard's guess.

A large department store, especially a high-end one, with a football stadium is unique in the world.

But Southampton's new stadium can do so, because Southampton was aware of doing so when it was designed.

If I'm not mistaken, the Harrods mall is not inside the stadium, but on the double-decker bridge connecting the stadium and the land. In addition to the two roads and sidewalks, there is also a large single-story building in the middle, which is connected to the ground floor and underground parking lot of the new stadium, and the architectural style is also in the same vein.

In other words, there is plenty of space not only in the Harrods mall but also inside the Southampton stadium that can be used to attract investment. By then, the annual rental of the venue alone will be a staggering income.

"It seems that Southampton has big ambitions!" Steven Howard chuckled.

If Southampton really follows their plan, after moving into the new stadium, the annual rent collected and the increase in match-day income will double or triple the Saints' financial revenue, and they may even catch up with big earners like Real Madrid and Manchester United.

"But I have a question!" As a reporter, Steven Howard had a keen sense of news and immediately grasped the crux of the matter. "Why are those merchants interested in the shops in Southampton?"

Developing supporting land around stadiums is not something that no one has done before. For example, a corner of Real Madrid's Bernabeu was rented out to someone at a pretty good price.

In addition, Arsenal's Emirates Stadium can earn tens of millions of pounds a year in rent alone, not to mention the income from tickets and VIP boxes.

But there are almost no teams that do the same as Southampton.

The reason is that most of the golf courses are located in suburban areas, while those in the city center generally do not have extra land and can only develop the interior of the golf course as much as possible.

For example, Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge is close enough to the city center, right?

But is there any way?

All the surrounding land belongs to others, and even the stadium does not belong to Chelsea. Any move must be approved, which will attract complaints. What should we do?

Also, for a team like Manchester United, the land around Old Trafford Stadium has considerable commercial value, but that does not belong to Manchester United.

Therefore, Southampton is the only team that can make such a big splash in the top leagues of European football.

But when it comes to commercial value, it does exist. After all, it attracts 60,000 to 70,000 fans to the stadium every week to watch a game. Many fans even like to run around the stadium on weekdays. With a little development, the potential is huge.

But Steven Howard felt it was difficult to attract so many businesses at once.

Unless, Southampton has its own plans.

After listening to Steven Howard's question, Charlene Lahri smiled slightly and said, "Southampton certainly has the chips and plans to attract those merchants. Otherwise, are those merchants all fools?"

"What plan?" Steven Howard immediately became interested.

He sensitively realized that this was the real bombshell!

Charlene Lahiri looked at Steven Howard leisurely, and after deliberately keeping him in suspense, she finally spoke out.

“Free tickets!”

"What?" Steven Howard stood up in surprise, "Game...game tickets are free?"

"right!"

"How is this possible?" The chief reporter of The Sun shook his head desperately. This was absolutely impossible.

Free tickets?

What kind of joke is this?

You know, after Southampton moved into the new stadium, according to the attendance rate, the average income per game was at least 3-4 million pounds. Free? Could it be that Southampton is going to become a charity?

Besides, ticket revenue has always been one of the main sources of income for each club. If there is no ticket revenue, wouldn’t Southampton’s income drop sharply?

By then, how will we support so many stars?

But Charlene Lahiri was obviously not surprised, as if she had expected Steven Howard's reaction.

This made the chief reporter of The Sun a little strange. Could it be true?

But if it is true, why would Southampton do this?

In other words, why should Southampton do this?

"Steven, this plan is still in trial operation, but I can only say that many people are very optimistic about this plan, so Harrods and some other companies and brands have chosen to move in, just because of this!"

When Charlene Lahiri said this, her face was full of confidence.

"If Southampton is successful, it will become Southampton, no, it will even become the most popular tourist consumption hotspot in south London!"

At this moment, Steven Howard was really shocked!

He had thought about a lot of things before, some of which he even thought were exaggerated.

But when he told Charlene Lahiri at this moment, he was surprised to find that the reality was even more exaggerated than he had imagined!

Oh my god, has this world gone crazy?