Second step of the CEO interview Genoa Andres Blazquez a Football and Finance. Blazquez he spoke freely about important topics such as the current financial situation of Griffin with respect to the future objectives that the club has set itself, of the market, of the stadium and of the relationships with the Sampdoria. Here are his statements.
BLAZQUEZ ON THE FUTURE GOAL. “We are at a level that is between half and a third of the clubs that take part in the cups. Except Bologna who did something fantastic this season. In order to create a competitive team we still need to sort out the costs. If we manage to put together a team with 40 million salaries we would have a competitive squad for the cups. But to get to that point we need at least a few more years. Once fully operational, the ambition is that perhaps already in 2025/26 it will be the first year in which we will have a team with the potential to aim for the cups“.
ABOUT THE STADIUM. “The facilities in Italy are not at the level of a top championship like Serie A. There are very few stadiums that are at the level of the European ones. Inter and Milan, despite having an old facility, earn millions in revenue for each match. We are around 300 thousand per game. I think that a suitably renovated and refurbished Luigi Ferraris could bring us 700 thousand euros in revenue from ticketing, hospitality and merchandising on match days. We believe that the regional body can make a contribution to Ferraris. If only for reasons of fairness with La Spezia, where he guaranteed a third of the spending on the stadium. Furthermore, Marco Bucci is one of the mayors with the greatest working spirit I have ever met and we are fortunate that he is in favor of the renewal of the plant“.
AND ON RELATIONS WITH SAMP. “We felt for Ferraris and we agree with the project, we are carrying out changes together and we want to continue with the renovation of the stadium, bringing it to UEFA category 4. It is clear that the sooner we start, the better. We were ready a year ago and we had to respect the moment that Sampdoria was going through to do something together. Once the ownership changed we began to work in a very productive way“.
ON THE SEARCH FOR A STABLE INCOME. “Genoa, due to its reputation, history, fan base, and catchment area, should always be in the same league table areas as clubs like Fiorentina or Torino. This year we haven’t gone far, but it’s just the certainty of always being in that area that allows you to plan investments in the medium term, without having the nightmare of falling to Serie B. To be able to do this, however, we still need to grow in economic terms. Then, it’s also true that a year like the one that happened to Sassuolo can always happen and slip into Serie B despite the skill of managers like the CEO of the Emilians Giovanni Carnevali“.
