Now to strengthen and grow its business and fan relationships in the US, the club has opened a new flagship headquarters on Park Avenue in New York City.
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The Catalonia club already have a number of sponsorship deals based in the United States with brands such as Nike, Gatorade, Stanley Black & Decker and Gillette.
Francesco Calvo, the club’s chief revenue officer, said Barcelona generated $680 million in revenue past year.
“The (U.S.) domestic (market) is key”, said Manel Arroyo, Barcelona’s vice president for marketing and communications. Fox’s beIN Sports holds La Liga broadcasting rights in the USA and is available in about 18 million American households, while the English Premier League deal with NBC Sports Network gives global football brands like Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and more exposure to more than 85 million households.
The Spanish league, La Liga, and other European clubs like Bayern Munich already have offices in NY. With this new office and with the opening of the office in Hong Kong two years ago, now we can say that FC Barcelona is a twenty four hours a day, seven days a week operation.
“U.S. and China are the main markets, the places where football is growing faster”, Arroyo said. The team, led by five-time world player of the year Lionel Messi, has won 24 La Liga titles and five Championship League crowns.
Forbes estimates Barcelona’s worth at $3.55 billion, making it the world’s third-most-valuable sports franchise.
“There are projects launching there in the coming months that we just couldn’t have done from Barcelona”.
Besides expanding the brand and reaching out to fans, Arroyo said the club is in NY to learn from US leagues like the NFL and National Basketball Association, which he considers the “benchmark” in the global sports industry.
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