Interview: Huddersfield Town chief exec Jake Edwards on Accu Stadium takeover

Steven Chicken: Jake, thanks for joining us. Congratulations on the takeover, it’s been a long time coming. Can you talk us through what taking over Accu Stadium means for Huddersfield Town?

Jake Edwards: Good, thank you. Thanks for having me. Yeah, a momentous day for the football club and I believe the town as well. This amazing, iconic stadium now for the first time in its 30-year history will now be fully owned and operated by the football club.

Massively important for the future of the football club and the sustainability of the football club, but also ensuring that the stadium will be looked after, invested into and upgraded for many, many years to come.

What does it do for the club financially? What’s the benefit to you, for those who aren’t familiar with why that arrangement, you felt, didn’t work as much as it wanted – what does having the ownership do for you?

Well, over the last number of years the ownership structure has been a challenge. Perhaps in its early iterations it was the right model for the time. Over the last number of years, due to challenges that the three parties were having to maintain levels of investment into the stadium, was clearly apparent.

So, the football club, although not the largest shareholder, was certainly the most impactful partner, driving most of the revenue at the building [and] was also subject to near enough all of the costs to maintain and operate the stadium, but really receiving very little of non-matchday revenue and certain other major asset classes that you would normally be selling if you’re controlling the stadium: things like naming rights, parking, some of the concessions, catering revenue, all the non-matchday revenue, concerts and events in the summer, all of those things we wouldn’t have captured.

And now you’re able to participate in that, not just what currently is, but now we can actually supercharge and invest in those areas, because we can get the return.

Yeah, is it mostly a non-matchday benefit more than matchday then do you think? Or is it a bit of both there?