Sometimes the time is just wrong for an otherwise worthy project, and that seems to be the case with the World Football Museum in Zurich, a project closely associated with Sepp Blatter, who was forced out of his post as head of the world football (soccer) federation FIFA.
In its 8 months of operation, the $142 million museum has lost more than $30 million, has averaged only 11,000 visitors a month, less than 400 a day. The FIFA Council will have it on the agenda in January, and is likely to close it, at least until a new plan can be made.
The Museum’s director left in October over “differences of view” over museum strategy. FIFA set up a task force headed by its deputy Secretary General to “develop a sustainable business model for the World Football Museum.” A preliminary report, that the Council will discuss, says that “In-depth analysis conducted…showed that the museum will generate an estimated loss of approximately 30 million Swiss francs…Its current operational concept would not allow it to do business viably beyond 2016.”
Zurich, Switzerland. No – not the greatest supporter of Football in the World.
Not even close to a great sporting city.
If all the decision makers at FIFA put their heads together – they could make a log hut !
Given its location is outside the European Union – its beyond the scrutiny of others. Deals made in Switzerland often have so many crumbs falling off the table that others can live on the proceeds.
With costs of $142 million that’s a lot of room for wastage – and Sepp Blatter.
To be fair, from our side of the Atlantic, Zurich doesn’t look like such a bad location, since it’s the home of FIFA, and has good rail and air connections to everywhere else.
That seems to work for our Football Hall of Fame (Canton, Ohio), the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Well, Cleveland’s a real city…but not near any of the ‘capitals’ of rock!
I think what really killed this one is that it was so overbuilt, overplanned and overconnected to Sepp Blatter…