Industry update: more on stadium renovation & development, fan experience and accessibility

Read more on the stadium projects of Crystal Palace FC, FC Barcelona, Brentford and Fulham, smart use of social media at Manchester City & Aston Villa FC and an accessibility virtual tour at Dundee United in this short industry update by ESSMA.

Construction & Development  

• A ceremony was held to celebrate the start of the development of the new Brentford Community Stadium which will deliver a 17,250 capacity-stadium, 910 new homes and the home base for Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. The project will be delivered during the 2019/20 season. 
• The chairman of Fulham FC announced that the redevelopment plans of the Riverside Stand at Craven Cottage have been approved. The project will include improved facilities for users on both match and non-match days. The works are expected to begin in the summer of 2019. A full timeline of scheduled works will be announced soon.
• Crystal Palace FC gave an update on the Selhurst Park redevelopment project. The plans focus on a major revamp of the Main Stand. In addition, the rest of the ground will also be improved including the removal of the gantry in the Arthur Wait Stand to improve sightlines for fans. Furthermore, the length of the pitch will extend to be able to host future international football matches and more. 

Fan Experience & Hospitality

• Sevilla FC are at an advanced stage of their new ‘Experience Museum’. The museum will give visitors a unique experience, combining football and culture by bringing more than 100 year history of Sevilla FC together. The exhibition will pass on ‘Sevillism’  to all ages, explaining what it means and what they are. 
• Dundee United have launched an accessibility virtual tour around Tannadice Park. Fans can navigate in and around the accessibility parts of the stadium: entrance points, stands and seatings while getting detailed information.
• Juventus FC are building their J Hotel, an exclusive four-star complex that will be located a few hundred metres from the Allianz Stadium. The hotel will include a restaurant, four meeting rooms and a seating room that can be adapted to specific needs. Tourists, visitors and fans will be able to stay in the same hotel as the first team players creating a unique experience. 
• Manchester City introduced a new social media campaign called ‘#SameGoals’. The club wants to activate more girls to play football whatever their background. Girls are encouraged to send in football clips of them scoring or saving any kind of ball. As a reward, they get a limited-edition football to keep playing.
• Aston Villa FC has announced BillyBot, an Aston Villa Facebook Messenger bot that will augment the interaction between the club and their supporters. This allows fans to have an instant and intelligent conversation via Facebook Messenger. Moreover, fans can also suggest ideas to the chatbot to implement these in future updates for the tool.

SMART & Sustainability

• FC Barcelona unveiled a video, giving more details of the new Camp Nou. The stadium will, among others, include a roof that collects rainwater to water the pitch and an underground parking to make space for a park around the stadium. 

Partner news

• The Football Business Academy, an ESSMA Partner, and ESSMA Stadium Member Olympique Lyonnais will unite in an educational partnership. Following this agreement, specific areas such as internationalisation, stadium management and more will be covered together with the exchange of knowledge, perspectives and ideas. 
• Tottenham Hotspur FC have partnered up with Daktronics, an ESSMA Corporate Partner. Four main video displays, two façade displays and three tiers of ribbon displays will be provided by the company at the new home of the club to ensure and maintain a high level of fan experience.