无论在世界任何地方，足球俱乐部实际上都属于娱乐产业。但是，许多球队拥有者没能意识到这点，没能充分利用球迷的力量去提升球队、创造收入。

几个月前，曾在迪士尼公司CEO位子上坐过二十多年的迈克尔·艾斯纳（Michael Eisner）买下了一支英国足球队——朴茨茅斯FC。朴茨茅斯FC曾征战英超，历史上拿到过两次足总杯冠军（1938-39赛季、2007-08赛季），但近年俱乐部实力跌入谷底，目前在英甲打拼。球队甚至一度濒临破产，靠着球迷出资才活到现在。

富豪艾斯纳一直希望投资一支体育俱乐部。据说朴茨茅斯FC吸引他的是俱乐部和球迷们如同家人般氛围，这样他想起了他在迪士尼的早年时光。艾斯纳希望将朴茨茅斯FC的比赛打造成一项最优秀的家庭娱乐活动，以及让朴茨茅斯FC重返英国顶级联赛，而且他深知，这两个目标的追寻一定要保持同步。

艾斯纳对朴茨茅斯FC的愿景让我不禁联想到了中国足球，联想到了中国足球的现场观赛体验，说实话那十分缺乏娱乐性。对我来说在中国看球是一种十分单一的体验：食物和饮料不能带进场馆；除了两端球门后方安排好的球迷席位，观众席基本没有什么热闹的氛围，更别提离赛场最远的几百个席位，那里绝对是一片鸦雀无声。

撇开球场上的比赛精彩与否不谈，中国足球比赛的整体氛围和体验无法激发球迷的兴致，而这进而也会影响球队的表现。我知道，中国的足球俱乐部没有属于自己的体育场馆，无法掌握场馆运营的权利，同时官方的诸多限制政策也十分严苛，但中国足球俱乐部真的需要“娱乐”这一属性，因为就像艾斯纳指出的那样，这是一家俱乐部走向伟大所必需。球场上需要娱乐元素，比赛前需要娱乐元素，中场休息需要娱乐元素，比赛结束也需要娱乐元素。娱乐做的好，不光球迷会愿意掏出更多钱，球迷数量也会持续增长。

我有一个简单的观察，中国的足球俱乐部都有着属于自己的巨大本土市场，他们还不需要考虑国外的事。大多数中国俱乐部所在城市的人口数量，比许多世界顶级俱乐部都要大得多，所以他们应该首先在中国搭建好娱乐业务，然后再考虑挤进世界足球市场。让比赛变成一场在下午或晚上进行的狂欢节，让无论赛场内外的活动都向在场的观众传递兴奋和欢乐的能量，就像迪士尼做的那样。我想两年后朴茨茅斯FC可能不会变成迪士尼乐园，但我很确定主场和客场球迷们都会在朴茨茅斯FC的主场收获娱乐的价值。

作者简介：Ken Grant 鸿俊，MSc, DipM, MCIM, Chartered Marketer

体育业内人士、投资人和观察家；国际主席俱乐部(IPC)及亚英体育俱乐部(AASC)董事；The English Football League中国区官方商务开发代表。在足球、高尔夫、马球等体育领域拥有广泛的国际关系。

英文原文：

Will Chinese football ever deliver true entertainment value?

Those running football clubs wherever they are around the world are actually in the entertainment industry, all be it the sports entertainment industry. However, many club owners fail to realise this and capitalise on the power of the fans to lift the team and to generate income.

A few months ago Michael Eisner the American businessman who led the Disney Corporation for many years purchased the English football club Portsmouth FC, a team that has in the past been in the EPL and won the FA cup, but in recent years dropped three levels to League 2 and almost went broke. It was saved by its own fans who purchased the club and kept it alive.

Eisner is a very wealthy man and was looking to invest in a sports club. Pompey as Portsmouth are known appealed to him because of the fans and family atmosphere the club had and he could feel a similarity with his early years at Disney. His vision for the club is to deliver great family entertainment and to lift the club back to the highest levels of English football, but he knows that both goals must run together.

This vision made me think of football in China and in particular the actual match-day experience, and to be honest the lack of it. For me attending a match in China is a one dimensional occasion; food and drink is not available within the stadium area, other than the ‘manufactured’ groups of fans placed behind each goal there is very little crowd atmosphere and definitely no noise from the visiting fans who are typically limited to a few hundred placed in the most remote part of the stadium.

If we put aside the football on the pitch, the entire spectacle and experience doesn’t lift the fans which in turn doesn’t lift the team. I appreciate that clubs in China do not own or operate the stadium, and that often the police regulations are very restrictive, but Chinese club owners really do need to this ‘entertainment’ because as Eisner pointed out, this is what makes a club great, entertainment on the pitch but also entertainment before the match, at half time and on departure. The better the entertainment, the more money the fans will spend and the more the fan base will grow.

A simple observation on my part is that Chinese clubs have a massive home market to address, they don’t need to look beyond their own country, most clubs are based in cities with populations much, much bigger than those of some of the worlds top clubs, so why not build an entertainment business within China the global football market should come later. Make going to a match an afternoon or evening out, make it a carnival so that both the on and off pitch activities deliver excitement and fun to those who attend and think Disney. I suspect a visit to Pompey in two years time will not be like going to Disneyland, but I am sure home and away fans will look forward to every match played at Fratton Park for its total entertainment value.

声明：文中观点仅代表作者本人观点，不代表懒熊体育。