Sodexo wins new ten year contract as venue partner for Hampden Park

Sodexo has won a new ten-year contract as venue partner for Hampden Park, the home of Scottish football, covering catering, retail, hospitality, conferences, events, marketing and sales.

Hampden Park stages some of the biggest fixtures in the Scottish football calendar, as well as concerts and events, and is one of the host venues for the rearranged UEFA EURO 2020 competition this year.

The new agreement will see Sodexo and the Scottish FA, who have worked together since 1999, form a strategic upweighted commercial partnership, with Sodexo taking the lead on driving Hampden’s revenues as a venue, investing in facilities, branding, hospitality and sales and marketing.

As part of the new partnership, Sodexo is investing £1.7m in upgraded hospitality facilities and reengineering the venue for a new product mix, in addition to new sales and marketing roles.

Sodexo will become the exclusive sales agent for hospitality and premium seating, including concerts. There will be significant updates to Hampden’s facilities, with hospitality spaces being rebranded and redesigned.

Superboxes

Eight of the existing hospitality boxes will be combined to create two ‘Superboxes’ with a terrace offering panoramic views over the pitch and a direct connection to some of the finest seats in the ground. These superboxes will become private dining rooms on non-matchdays.

Sodexo will also introduce a “Club Seat” package; a match-by-match premium seat, which can be pre-booked and licenced for alcohol sales.

The existing café, Nevis Suite, Lomond Suite and two of the Silver Lounges will also be upgraded as part of a new tiering strategy for all hospitality at the venue, with seven different price points depending upon the offer, facility and fixture.

David Trotter, Divisional Managing Director – Sports & Stadia, Sports & Leisure, Sodexo UK & Ireland, said:

I am delighted to be continuing our long-lasting partnership with the Scottish FA for a further 10 years. Hampden Park has great memories for many people; we can’t wait to welcome people back to create more unforgettable experiences.

This fantastic project has considered four spaces where we believe we can create a collection of next-generation hospitality spaces which encourage guests to stay longer by working intuitively at different times of the day and stretch far beyond the matchday.

Major upgrade

As part of the investment, Sodexo will also invest in technology to upgrade the consumer experience at the venue and drive efficiencies and better insight for the team. This investment will include new digital solutions to support conferencing and events, hospitality, ticketing and bookings, as well as digital EPOS and screens across retail counters.

Nick Byrom, Business Development Director of Sodexo Sports & Leisure UK, commented:

This is an exciting development in our relationship with the Scottish FA. In the new contract, we are bringing together our breadth of experience across hospitality, retail, guests services, ticketing, and sales and marketing, to offer a compelling venue partnership approach. This is a model we are applying right across our business as we rebuild out of Covid-19 and develop more strategic partnerships with our clients.

Anton Fagan, Head of Stadium Operations at the Scottish FA, said:

Since taking ownership of Hampden Park, the Scottish FA has made it one of our top priorities to improve the stadium facilities. The improvements that Sodexo have committed to making through this new partnership will not only benefit the match day experience but also transform the stadium into a top-class, year-round venue for events, which in turn will increase revenue that we can subsequently re-invest in the national game.

The experience that Sodexo bring to this partnership and their commitment to reinvigorating the stadium will be instrumental in helping us achieve our goal of developing Hampden Park into a source of pride for the nation.

Main image (top): View from one of the new superboxes at Hampden Park

ALSD International provides year-round insights and key learnings around increasing revenue through New Builds, Renovations, Service Expansions, Premium Seating, Hospitality, F&B, Technology and Reopening, Rebuilding & Recovery. For more information, click on the banner below…

The next edition of ALSD International is being hosted by Liverpool Football Club September 6-7 and will feature a high-level conference, exhibition and networking events, as well as technical tours of Anfield, Everton’s Goodison Park and M&S Bank Arena on the ACCL campus. 

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

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

#sportsvenuebiz 

#sportsvenuebusiness – The leading platform for sector news, views & developments