Industry news: more on cashless payments, ticketing and development

Read more on the ‘Save our shirt’ campaign of Huddersfield Town, the ticketbot at Hertha BSC, the cashless Red Bull Arena and more in ESSMA’s weekly industry update.

Operations & Ticketing

• The Red Bull Arena of FC Red Bull Salzburg will become cashless from the upcoming 2019/20 season. In addition, the club is making efforts with regards to sustainability by implementing a reusable cup system.

• Hertha BSC will introduce a ticketbot available on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger via AI. The TicketBot system is a joint project between the club and spectrm. In addition, the club is planning to further use AI services over Messenger in order to facilitate a way fans can stay up-to-date with additional digital services. The new season kit launch was also supported by a messenger campaign.

Fan Experience & Hospitality

• With the ‘Save our shirt’ campaign, Huddersfield Town and title sponsor, Paddy Power, are backing a move towards unbranded football kits, effectively returning the shirt back to the fans. As a result, Huddersfield Town will play without visible shirt sponsor for the upcoming 2019/20 season.

Development & Construction

• Dacia Arena, home of Udinese Calcio, will enter a new phase in its project with the expansion of an additional 20,000m² for non-football related facilities. The additional facilities will include a conference space, a museum for regional sports, a medical and rehabilitation center, an area for cultural activities and more. The total cost of the project is estimated between €20 and 30 million.

General News

• The ECA Women’s Club Football Analysis benchmarks the current landscape of the women’s game. The study provides an extensive mapping of the organisational and operational structures in women’s club football, from both a development and commercial perspective.

• CAFE published the summary report of this year’s CAFE Week of Action 2019. The CAFE Week of Action is an annual celebration of access and inclusion within football, harnessing the unique power of the world's most popular sport to bring about wider societal change. 

Download CAFE's summary report

• The Premier League’s Global Broadcast Report for the 2018/19 season shows an increase in number of people watching the competition worldwide. The research established that cumulative audiences for live Premier League programming rose 11% to 1.35 billion fans.