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Huddersfield Town owner Dean Hoyle’s bid to take over “operational control” of the John Smith’s Stadium could net the club as much as £20m a year in extra match day revenue.

That’s the view of a football finance expert who said negotiating new commercial deals formed part of strengthening the club’s revenue portfolio.

Mr Hoyle surprised supporters at one of his informal fans’ forum meetings before last Saturday’s match against Chelsea by announcing that Town would sell the advertising and run the refreshments.

Fans tweeted that he said a deal was close and could be completed within the next six weeks. Following his question-and-answer session he received a standing ovation.

The 24,500-seat John Smith’s Stadium is currently operated by Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd (KSDL) and is co-owned by Town, Kirklees Council and Huddersfield Giants.

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Dr Dan Plumley, football finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University, said whilst match day revenue could not compete with the £200m gleaned from TV deals it was still not to be sneezed at.

“Taking control means that revenue streams go to the club,” he said. “Town are looking at the strengthening of their revenue portfolio. It depends what they do with that as to how much it generates.

“The main revenue will be the TV deal but they want to make money on extra match day revenue, which goes into the pot. That £200m is linked to the TV broadcasting deal. Where they can get a bit extra is another £20m every year in commercial deals.”

Dr Plumley said controlling advertising revenue was a key building block to expanding the value of the club’s business.

And whilst he said cash from commercial deals was “nothing compared to TV money” he added “from a business sense going forward it’s better to have that.”

He pointed out that Mr Hoyle could also be looking at a worst-case scenario, and that if Town are relegated in 2019 the match day money could help fund a contingency plan.

“The TV deal is what drives the revenues. If they lose TV money then they are looking at other revenue streams – going back to match day ticket sales and stadium spend.

“Presently they have money to spend. They could buy the Giants out of their rent agreement, and that is all about business strategy further down the line. Then they only have to worry about Kirklees Council ’s share.

“Town’s revenues – they got a minimum of £100m last season – will far outweigh the Giants’. In terms of power-play Town are in a strong position with the Giants. They have got the upper hand in the negotiations.

“In terms of the clubs it’s a straightforward business transaction. The council may be a different matter.”

Town supporters who attended the forum event said the response was “overwhelmingly positive” with Mr Hoyle’s announcement described as “amazing” and “the best news ever.”

There were other dissenting voices. Referencing the stadium one fan commented: “It’s not Town’s, though. It should be run in the interest of community, given we all paid for it.”