Pete Winkelman says that the money gained from concerts held at Stadium MK will provide sustainability to the Football Club.
Stadium MK played host to Take That last month and Sir Rod Stewart is set to play at the home of MK Dons this week. German rock band Rammstein are the third and final concert to take place at Stadium MK this summer, with more set to arrive in the coming years.
The money made from hosting such events will provide sustainability to the Football Club, which Winkelman described as the ‘emotional driver’ behind everything at Stadium MK.
“Sometimes it takes the horror of something like relegation to bring you back to work to find the income you need,” the Chairman said in his exclusive interview with iFollow MK Dons.
“We have to run a huge deficit here at the Football Club. Anyone who looks at the accounts every year will see that there is a black hole of millions of pounds. Every year you have to plug that gap and things like the stadium concerts brings in that money - otherwise, it’s unsustainable.
“It’s something we should have been doing for the last few years, really. It was all part of the original plan.
“Some people might say, couldn’t you spend that money on something else other than the football? Well, no. It’s the football that emotionally drives everything we do. Football is very much at the heart of everything here.”
Winkelman continued: “It’s great to see these big artists coming to Milton Keynes. We shouldn’t have to go somewhere else to watch these artists, we should be able to do so in our own city.
“We have a wonderful track record of the bowl and their big concerts but more recent shows have been in stadiums and that’s the opportunity to Stadium MK to make its mark.
“I’m pleased to say that we are making our mark because these will not be the last of the concerts we’re doing. We’re already talking to the promoters about concerts for next year as well. I do want it to be something we can regularly do.”
