article: This time last year rugby club Wasps was putting the final touches to its move from High Wycombe to Coventry, a 75 mile journey it hoped would transform it from a club losing more than £3m a year into a thriving leisure business. As part of its relocation Wasps did not just move into, but acquired, the Ricoh Arena stadium complex in the West Midlands city for £20m. The fact that the Barbadian artist - famous for hit singles like Umbrella, We Found Love, and Diamonds - is kicking off her high-profile tour in their stadium is a source of pride to club executives, and an indication of how far financially as well as geographically they have come. It also illustrates how the Premiership club sees its new commercial model as being as much about leisure as it is about sport. "The entertainment side is where we see the biggest commercial growth," Wasps Group chief executive David Armstrong tells me. It was 13 months ago that Wasps, then based in Buckinghamshire, announced they would play their home games at the Ricoh Arena, completing the stadium purchase a month later. Their first game as owners of their new home was a win against London Irish in December 2014. A year on, the club is no longer the tenant of Wycombe Wanderers football club, but a multi-venue, multi-use business. Moving a major sporting "franchise" lock, stock and barrel from one city to another is not uncommon in the United States, but in the more conservative UK, such uprooting is greeted with suspicion. "The primary reason for moving was commercial," Mr Armstrong said, speaking to the BBC at the annual Rugby Expo conference at Twickenham. "We were looking to create a stable long-term business model that would take us forward over the next 250 years," he adds, referring to the length of their Ricoh lease. "With our previous business model, we were losing in the region of £3m to £4m a year. Our only revenue then was ticket sales. Food and beverage sales went to the football club, while other revenue went to our sponsors. "We were a shell of a club, and couldn't be competitive and make money." As well as its new income strands, earlier this year, the club raised £35m with the issue of a seven-year bond, paying a fixed gross rate of interest of 6.50% a year until 2022 . Funds raised were used to restructure the club balance sheet and pay down existing debt, including loans acquired with the Ricoh Arena. According to Mr Armstrong the banks backed the bond issue because of the strength of the club's various income strands. Ownership of the Ricoh Stadium complex gives Wasps control over other income streams, not just from rugby matches. As well as the main sports stadium bowl, the purchase also saw the club acquire the indoor 12,000-standing-capacity Jaguar Exhibition Hall, which hosts smaller music concerts, and can also be hired for trade shows, company presentations and other business use. And the Ricoh also contains three restaurants, five bars, 20 retail
summary: When pop superstar Rihanna last week unveiled her 2016 UK concert tour dates, her choice of opening venue was seen as a vindication for an English rugby union club that has financially come back from the brink.