Arsenal might have never won Europe’s premier competition, but they reign over their competition when it comes to matchday revenue with earnings at the Emirates stadium much greater than anywhere else in Europe.
When Arsenal moved out of Highbury in 2006 to the swanky, state of the art Emirates stadium, matchday revenue was expected to increase exponentially, and the 60,000 capacity ground in North London has done just that for the Gunners.
The Gunners generated 132 million euros (£116 million, US$148 million) in the 2015-16 season from ticket sales and fan spending, according to a study by Deloitte. Matchday revenue played a crucial role in Arsenal’s overall income as it accounts to over 30% of the total revenue at the North London club. Arsenal are just ahead of Real Madrid’s iconic Santiago Bernabeu in the list, which has a capacity of 80000 and earned 129.8 million euros in the same season.
Out of the 10 most profitable stadiums in Europe, 5 stadiums are from the Premier League, two from La Liga, two from Bundesliga and one from Ligue 1. Unsurprisingly, Premier League clubs dominate the list as they are the most commercially dominant league in the world.
Manchester United and Liverpool suffered from playing in the Europa League instead of the Champions League last season, while Manchester City’s inability to fill the superb Etihad stadium sees them at 10th place. However, Manchester United’s initial participation in the CL group stages along with a higher seating capacity at Old Trafford sees them take 4th position.
Chelsea are the other Premier League team in the list, and they occupy an impressive 5th position thanks to their run to the round of 16 in last year’s Champions League. In Spain there are no surprises as traditional super weights Barcelona and Real Madrid make the list, while Atletico Madrid miss out despite making the final of the Champions League last year.
Here is the list of the 10 most profitable stadiums in Europe based on matchday revenue in 2015-16 season:
| Team | Stadium | Revenue (In million Euros) |
| Arsenal | Emirates | 132 |
| Real Madrid | Santiago Bernabeu | 129.8 |
| Barcelona | Camp Nou | 116.9 |
| Manchester United | Old Trafford | 114 |
| Chelsea | Stamford Bridge | 93.1 |
| Bayern Munich | Allianz Arena | 89.8 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Parc des Princes | 78 |
| Liverpool | Anfield | 75 |
| Manchester City | Etihad | 57 |
| Borussia Dortmund | Signal Iduna Park | 54.2 |
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