Industry update: more on ticketing, eFootball and construction

Read more on a contactless ticketing service at Allianz Arena, a new stadium for FC Dordrecht, the eFootball VBL Club Championship and more in this weekly industry update provided by ESSMA.

Operations & Ticketing

• FC Bayern München partnered up with Apple to offer fans convenient and fast contactless stadium access via their iPhone and Apple Watch. All scanners at the turnstiles have been equipped with the latest NFC technology in cooperation with SKIDATA, an ESSMA Stadium Partner. The contactless ticketing service will officially launch during the next home match of FC Bayern München on 19 December.

Fan Experience

• During the eFootball VBL Club Championship, founded by DFL and EA Sports, twenty-two clubs from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 will be competing against each other in a ‘Davis Cup’ format from 16 January 2019. As all virtual players and teams will have the same aggregated player rating of 85, each club can be represented by their own virtual team without any (dis)advantage. An overview of all competing teams:
  • Bundesliga: FC Augsburg, Hertha BSC, SV Werder Bremen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hannover 96, RB Leipzig, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 1. FSV Mainz 05, Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1. FC Nürnberg, FC Schalke 04, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg.
  • 2. Bundesliga: DSC Arminia Bielefeld, VfL Bochum 1848, SV Darmstadt 98, SpVgg Greuther Fürth, Hamburger SV, FC Ingolstadt 04, Holstein Kiel, 1. FC Köln, SV Sandhausen.

Development & Construction

• Since its promotion into the PRO D2 division in 2005, Provence Rugby Club has conducted renovations to adapt the Maurice David Stadium LNR requirements. Together with ESSMA Corporate Partner, GL Events, the club renovated the East grandstand in 2014 - increasing the seating capacity of the facility to more than 3,500 seats - and the North grandstand in 2018 - increasing the capacity to 6,000 seats. New hospitality areas were designed (boxes, reception venues, etc.). The first extension step of the Maurice David Stadium at Aix-en-Provence (France) was carried out in 2014 during the off-season. The new East covered grandstand (2,000 seats) enabled to increase the stadium’s capacity to 3,567 places. New spaces were integrated: 16 closed boxes, a media platform and a catering space. A 450m² under-structure reception area was built behind the end-zone to host the public before, during and after each match. Eventually, the staff and the players were given a new under-structure area including a fitness centre, offices, a physio area and a video room. In 2018, renovations continued with the second extension step. The building of a new North covered grandstand (2,222 seats), increasing the stadium’s global capacity to 6,000 seats. On the first floor, toilets, caterings spaces with firebreak walls (necessary to install kitchens) and a 600m² VIP lounge were included to host fans on matchdays.

• FC Dordrecht has accepted the Municipality’s offer to develop a new stadium at Sportpark Krommedijk. Initial plans of the new project include areas for other sports, education, leisure and a focus on social activities.