- May 20, 2023
- Posted by: SportsV
- Categories: Event News, Home News, Industry News, News, Press Releases
Preston North End has announced that Sodexo Live! will become the club’s official venue partner from 1 July 2023.
Sodexo Live! – a global leader in hospitality and live events – will take over the catering operation at Deepdale, including hospitality in the lounges and boxes, and on the concourse on matchdays.
Sodexo Live! has extensive experience of working in football and live entertainment catering, as the company is currently partnered with – amongst others – Everton and Newcastle United, as well as venues such as ACC Liverpool, Ascot Racecourse and Headingley Stadium.
As part of the agreement, Sodexo Live! will invest in the catering infrastructure at Deepdale with the aim of enhancing an efficient and enjoyable matchday experience for the club’s supporters.
Enhanced experience
Ahead of the beginning of the 2023/24 EFL Sky Bet Championship season, the club will organise a meeting with supporters’ representatives to discuss Sodexo Live’s matchday provisions.
Preston North End Director, Peter Ridsdale, said:
We are delighted to have agreed a long-term partnership with Sodexo Live!, who arrive with a fantastic reputation of providing a high-quality service.
As a company who are well-versed providing a service to football fans, we are confident our supporters will be satisfied with the new offerings they will experience on a matchday at Deepdale.
We are looking forward to establishing a mutually beneficial relationship in the coming years.
Sodexo Live! is a top-tier sponsor for the 2023 ALSD International Conference & Exhibition being hosted at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, October 9-10. Optimising revenue through New Builds, Renovations & Service Expansions is the key focus of this industry-leading event, with architecture & design, fan experience, hospitality, premium seating, sustainability and technology taking centre stage.
Rebecca Kane Burton, CEO of Sodexo Live! UK and Ireland – who will be speaking at the 2023 ALSD International Conference & Exhibition – said:
We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Preston North End and are delighted to be working with another excellent venue in North West England. We can’t wait to bring our knowledge in hospitality, retail, guest experience and venue management to Deepdale.
Enhancing the guest experience and creating an enjoyable and memorable match day experience for everyone is in our DNA. We can’t wait to get started.
The new partnership with Sodexo Live! will replace the existing deal with Heathcote&Co, who has been the club’s catering partner since 2018. Preston North End thanked them for the service they have provided over the past five years, and wished them every success moving forward.
Preston North End recently invested a six-figure sum in opening up a new fan bar – The Gentry Bar.
Club Chairman, Craig Hemmings, said a statement:
…In the Autumn 2022, Peter Ridsdale and I set out a number of promises to fan groups. We said that we were reviewing both our retail and our catering partnerships. We announced earlier in the season we have switched to fast-growing brand Castore for our retail offering and replica kits for next season. The new kits will be bespoke to PNE and we look forward to launching them by the last week in June this year.
More recently, we announced we have brought on board Sodexo Live! as our new official venue partner. We believe both will help enhance the fan experience and importantly help drive better income for the club for the 2023/24 season onwards.
Sports Venue Business organises and delivers ALSD International – the leading event and 365 community for the Premium Seat & Hospitality sector – on behalf of the Association of Luxury Suite Directors (ALSD).
ALSD International 2023 is taking place at Etihad Stadium this October, with venue tours complimenting the high-level conference, exhibition and networking events. This year’s edition will feature the inaugural Tech Symposium and a Fan Experience breakout being delivered by IIFX.
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