1885 shortlisted at Restaurant & Bar Design Awards

1885 at Southampton Football Club’s St Mary’s Stadium, designed by KSS – a longstanding VIP Sponsor of Sports Venue Business – has been shortlisted at the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards in the ‘Fast Casual’ category.

1885 celebrates the founding year of Southampton FC and the start of their exciting journey. KSS’ brief was to create the first pitch-facing lounge at St. Mary’s, creating a personalised experience for guests in an exclusive restaurant and bar, forming a new pinnacle of hospitality at the stadium.

The Restaurant & Bar Design Awards is a globally recognised competition dedicated to the design of food and beverage spaces. Leading industry professionals award prizes for the best work as voted by a panel of internationally recognised judges.

KSS said in a statement that they “look forward to attending the virtual awards ceremony on 15 October 2020”.

1885

1885 is not just any number, it’s when it all began, the club’s beginning and the start of an exciting journey for the founding members at St. Mary’s Church Young Men’s Association. Over a century later, the club nicknamed ‘The Saints’ are celebrating their rich heritage in an exclusive 40-person restaurant and bar designed by KSS for match days and events.

In the brand new pitch facing lounge, the club’s treasured artefacts take pride of place in the Library, allowing guests to go on a voyage of discovery to celebrate the first two decades of the Saints foundations, culture and influence across the city of Southampton.

An engraved concrete wall exhibits a large scale map of the city from 1885, set behind the luxurious furnishings reflecting the club’s jewel toned crest colours. KSS designed the branded collateral throughout the lounge from menus to enamel member badges with the theme integrated seamlessly throughout.

1885 is the most premium hospitality package in the stadium, with a relaxed and personalised experience for the guests centred around flexible dining and a striking bar and lounge area which reflect the city’s merchant navy past. Subdued indirect lighting focuses attention on full height views towards the pitch with direct access to new/reconfigured embroidered premium bowl seating.

Anthony Cole-Johnson, Sales Director at Southampton FC, said:

KSS were set an ambitious task by the club to design a new space that allowed us to maximise both the pitch side view of St Mary’s, as well as create a new look and feel for our premium hospitality and conference space. Through fantastic design, we have achieved a space that not only sets a new benchmark in our premium space, but has already received amazing feedback from our customers.

KSS partnered with Rainbow, a London-based furniture supplier, to create the 1885 lounge.

KSS worked on a wide range of upgrades at St. Mary’s, including not only the new pitchside lounge, but also improved catering facilities and the refurbishment of the home team changing room.

For more information: https://restaurantandbardesignawards.com/entries

KSS is a longstanding VIP Sponsor of Sports Venue Business. For more information on their award-winning services, simply click on their banner ad below…

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The 2020 edition of ALSD International – Europe’s leading event for the Premium Seat & Sports Hospitality sector, focusing on increasing revenue via new builds, renovations, service expansions & technology – is being hosted at the home of the newly crowned Premier League champions, Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium, October 12-13, with tours of our host venue, Everton’s Goodison Park and M&S Bank Arena. NB: The physical event will be complemented by a range of virtual elements to ensure no one misses out!

The 2020 edition of ALSD International – organised by the Association of Luxury Suite Directors and Sports Venue Business – will feature a high-level conference, an exhibition hall showcasing the latest products, services & solutions and numerous networking events, ensuring optimised opportunities to knowledge-share, network and do business, whether in person or virtually.

#ALSDInternational – Europe’s leading event for the Premium Seat & Sports Hospitality sector

#ALSD – Leading the Premium Seat sector for the last 30 years

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