Aspire Lounge opens at St. Mary’s Stadium

Situated in the Itchen Stand, the new Aspire lounge is the latest hospitality project KSS has developed in partnership with Southampton Football Club at St. Mary’s Stadium. The design draws upon the design principles of heritage, locality and spirit, that KSS developed for the Club ahead of their first project together in 2019.

Within Aspire these principles are combined in a playful and often bold way, from the rustic timbers and weathered metals to the earthy colour palette and heritage chalk board menus.

Highlight details of rope trims and industrial lighting are inspired by the maritime locality and the design is lifted with brand touches of red and storytelling artwork with the Southampton FC stripes subtly embedded to ensure that the result captures the Saint’s spirit.

The lounge offers private dining tables paired with an indulgent menu showcasing Hampshire’s finest home-grown ingredients and the lasting impression is a lounge that is both welcoming and memorable for their guests and fans.

Anthony Cole-Johnson, Director of Sales and Venue Experience at Southampton Football Club, stated:

As always, it has been a pleasure to work with KSS on the refresh of our latest lounge. By adopting their ideas, we have reshaped the identity of the space and created a fabulous lounge with the bar now the statement feature.

Debbie Power, Associate Director, KSS and Nick Marshall, Director, KSS, were among the 40+ industry expert speakers that shared insights during the ALSD International conference & exhibition, which was hosted in the KSS-designed Main Stand at Liverpool Football Club’s Anfield Stadium earlier this month. The duo joined panel sessions discussing “Stadiums of the Future” and “The Transformation of Anfield”.

Award win

KSS won Gold for ‘Best Professional Service Business Serving Football’ at the recent Football Business Awards 2021.

The accolade is the Practice’s fourth win at these prestigious awards and reinforces KSS’ status as leading sports architects and designers who listen and work with their clients to create venues that offer intense and dynamic sporting and spectator experiences.

Nick Marshall, Director, KSS, said:

As we celebrate 30 years in 2021, we are proud to have continued this client focused service throughout the pandemic. We completed major Training Centre developments for Leicester City FC and Liverpool FC alongside progressing the Crystal Palace FC Academy and Baltic Sports Village. In Stadia, we completed AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane and the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, whilst securing planning for the Anfield Road Stand Expansion for Liverpool FC.

KSS Director Nick Marshall and Associate Directors Ed Atkins and Geoff Taylor attended the event at the Brewery in London.

Ed said after the ceremony:

We are delighted to win this award once again and are privileged to work with such great clients, many of whom are also celebrating successes tonight, for allowing us to work on such fantastic projects from stadia and hospitality to training centres.

The Football Business Awards are in their ninth edition after a break last year and recognise the important role clubs and businesses play in enabling the game to be a success on and off the pitch.

Images, courtesy: KSS

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The latest edition of ALSD International was hosted by Liverpool Football Club September 6-7, 2021, and featured a high-level conference with 40+ high calibre industry professional speakers, an exhibition hall showcasing products & services, as well as networking events at Everton’s Goodison Park and M&S Bank Arena. 

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