Actually, Wu Hao offered Wu Zhengwei a quite substantial annual salary, along with various bonuses. He even explicitly told him that if he performs well over the next year or two, he would receive equity rewards, with specific amounts listed in the company’s reward mechanism file.

This reward mechanism is not only applicable to him but also to other senior personnel within the company.

After finishing the call with Wu Zhengwei, Wu Hao casually instructed the AI ‘Zero.’

“Zero, take some time to prepare the design plans and proposals for the reconstruction of the Daitianwan Stadium. The cost should be lower than that of the Tianyu Stadium. It needs to be completed within two months, but there’s no need to rush, as our current focus is on getting the Tianyu Stadium and training base right first.”

“Understood, BOSS,” the AI Zero responded.

Given Zero’s capabilities, designing a stadium’s blueprints, including detailed architectural plans and material choices, could be accomplished in less than a day.

After all, artificial intelligence has remarkable abilities; Zero now represents a higher level of intelligent life, far beyond the so-called artificial intelligence currently studied by humans.

Regarding the reconstruction of the Daitianwan Stadium, Wu Hao will definitely build the main stadium as a professional soccer field. Currently, there are too few professional soccer fields in our country—only a handful, with only the TEDA Stadium being the AFC’s sole certified professional stadium. Other venues, including Hongkou Stadium, do not meet AFC standards.

As for UEFA, their standards for professional soccer fields are even stricter.

Wu Hao’s design for the new Tianyu Stadium, with a standard capacity of 85,000 seats, is already the largest professional stadium in Asia, comparable only to a few stadiums in Europe.

Although Wu Hao could increase the stadium’s capacity to over 100,000, such a move would result in poor viewing experiences from the outermost seats.

Moreover, considering our country’s national situation, building a stadium with such a large capacity in a municipality directly under the central government might overshadow the National Stadium, the Bird’s Nest, in the capital! After all, the Bird’s Nest has a capacity of just over 90,000, and we shouldn’t steal the capital’s thunder.

At least, some face needs to be preserved. For example, while Wu Hao is achieving the highest national standards in technology and intelligence, the stadium’s capacity should be left to the Bird’s Nest!

In fact, other large stadiums under construction in various provinces in our country generally adhere to a similar unwritten rule, with capacities set to a bit over 80,000 but not exceeding 90,000.

For the Daitianwan Stadium, the main stadium’s capacity will also be set around 80,000, and the design and cost will definitely be lower than that of Tianyu Stadium to maintain a clear distinction!

…

The next day, under the auspices of the city government and relevant sports departments, Yi Xidi from the Lifan Club and representatives of the new Tianyu Club, including Wu Zhengwei representing Wu Hao, attended a grand press conference and formal signing ceremony held at the City People’s Auditorium.

Since the club transfer and renaming were only confirmed the previous afternoon, the public was not yet aware. However, many media reporters present, after receiving the joint notification from the city government and the club, had an inkling of what was going on.

“Do you think there’s something important being announced today, given the scale of the event and the presence of city leaders and the Lifan Club?” some reporters whispered among themselves.

“From the looks of it, it should be related to the club’s transfer.”

“I don’t think so! A mere club transfer wouldn’t warrant such a big show, especially in the grand auditorium.”

As these reporters chatted quietly, the press conference officially began. After a brief statement from the spokesperson, the media realized that the club had indeed changed ownership, but they didn’t show much surprise.

A mere club ownership change was not significant enough to warrant extensive coverage by authoritative media; at most, local sports media would show strong interest, while mainstream media would only mention it briefly the next day.

Soon, after the two club heads signed the contract in person, Yi Xidi tactfully withdrew to the background, leaving the proceedings to Wu Zhengwei, Sports Bureau Director Sun, and several city leaders.

“Thank you to all the media for attending this press conference jointly held by our Tianyu Club, the City Sports Bureau, and relevant leaders. Next, I’d like to make a few statements on behalf of the Tianyu Club and outline our development plans for the football industry in Shuangqing City and the country’s future.”

“Firstly, the Tianyu Club plans to invest a total of 30 billion yuan in football development. This investment will be made in three phases, with each phase involving 10 billion yuan. The initial plan includes constructing the club’s new main stadium and related infrastructure. This investment plan is divided into: building the largest professional stadium in Asia, an advanced training base, and a large professional football school. Additionally, the Tianyu Club will have a new goal for the next season, which is to win the league championship and the AFC Champions League. This concludes our investment plan. Now, please welcome the city leaders to speak.”

After Wu Zhengwei outlined the Tianyu Club’s investment plan, he handed the floor over to the city government officials.

Upon hearing the 30 billion yuan investment amount, the reporters were stunned. Such a large investment for football was unprecedented. If it were for building a new commercial center, they wouldn’t be surprised, as such investments in urban development are not unusual.

However, a 30 billion yuan investment in football is a major move. Even in Asia and Europe, no club has made such a substantial single investment.

Even when Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich triggered the “money storm” in European football by acquiring Chelsea years ago, the amount spent and the total investment over the years did not reach this level.

Chelsea, as a profitable Premier League club, received initial investments of only a few hundred million pounds from Abramovich, which would be around 1 billion pounds or 10 billion RMB.

Therefore, Wu Hao’s Tianyu Club’s announcement of a total investment of 30 billion yuan (approximately 5 billion USD) is truly a record-setting move in the history of world football.