Quinn’s financial strategy designed to repay loyalty

Mar 20 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

Niall Quinn has become a trailblazer in the boardroom by slashing the cost of season tickets. He told chief sports writer Luke Edwards why he believes secretive American investor Ellis Short’s involvement is even more important than his

NIALL Quinn did not reduce season ticket prices at Sunderland out of the goodness of his heart, but he did make the decision for the general good of a football club which, he believes, has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a Premier League force.

Quinn’s determination to drive down the cost of watching Sunderland play next season has been described as a moral quest by some, but the Irishman is uncomfortable with such heady praise when he knows he ultimately has a business to run in a deepening recession.

The pricing policy – which as well as reducing the price of all season tickets will allow children to attend Premier League home games for just £1 – was made in a financial climate which is suffocating every industry, including the leisure one Sunderland have to compete in.

At its most simplistic, it is a clever piece of marketing – increased attendances mean more revenue through refreshments and merchandise – yet it is also a financial strategy guided by a moral compass and fuelled by good intentions towards those who spend so much of their disposable income out of loyalty to the club they support.

“It’s a business decision,” said Quinn, whose popularity as chairman is unsurpassed in English football. “But it also fits in morally. It’s about getting the balance right. We felt we had an obligation. It’s all very well for these politicians to come out and tell businesses what they should be doing, but ours wasn’t a gesture of ‘ooh, let’s all try and do something nice’.