Industry update: more on ticketing, fan experience and development

Read more on the Offside Art Gallery at Groupama Stadium, the FC Groningen Elite Sports Training & Health Centre, an update of the Espai Barça project and more in this weekly industry update provided by ESSMA.

Fan Experience & Hospitality  

• Fans of Lille OSC are encouraged to sing and share the club’s hymn via a dedicated ‘karaoke filter’ on Snapchat. With the initiative the club wants to enhance the fan experience and connect with their fans, both on matchday and non-matchday.
• Olympique Lyonnais inaugurated a permanent exhibition at Groupama Stadium. The Offside Gallery is an urban art gallery with over 1,800 m2 of art from 16 artists. The idea of the art project is to not only create a nicer atmosphere for fans on matchday but also to target audiences not interested in football to increase the amount of visitors on non-matchdays.

Operations & Ticketing

• FC Barcelona is continuously improving its Seient Lliure ticketing programme. The programme focuses on increasing fan attendance at Camp Nou. Season ticket holders who are unable to attend a game have the opportunity to offer their seat to another fan while receiving some of the amount back. During the first games of the 2018/19 season, the club noted an overall increase of 4% in attendance as a result of the Seient Lliure programme.
• Manchester City will partner up with tappit, as the Club’s Official Events Cashless Payment Partner. Their common goal is to provide the ultimate fan experience. With the technology of tappit, fans will have a better experience on matchday via easy-to-use cashless payment methods. Insights generated by the technology will also provide the club with the opportunity for continuous development based on fan usage.

Construction & Development

• FC Barcelona revealed the latest development plans for Espai Barça. The project will include a new Camp Nou with a 105,000 capacity as well as a new 12,500 Palau Blaugrana Arena on the site of the current Mini Estadi. Furthermore, it includes moving the Mini Estadi to the Estadi Johan Cruyff, near the FC Barcelona Training Center as well as creating additional club activities e.g. offices.
• The multifunctional Elite Sports Training & Health Centre (Topsport Zorgcentrum) of Dutch Eredivisie club FC Groningen has officially been inaugurated on 13 October 2018. Christian van Ginneke presented the project during our Development & Construction Workshop in Paris this month. The Elite Sports Training & Health Centre is a 6,000 m² GLA mixed-use development. It consists of the training and youth academy facilities for FC Groningen, including a performance centre, indoor training facilities, a health centre, a commercial restaurant, meeting areas as well as commercial offices.

Partner News 

• The first instalments of grass grown at the SC’s Tree Nursery have been planted around Al Bayt Stadium - Al Khor City. The Tree Nursery is part of the SC’s commitment to ensure that the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ will leave a lasting and sustainable environmental legacy for the State of Qatar.  Over 350,000 m² of grass is being transported and transplanted from the Tree Nursery to the Al Bayt Stadium surrounding area.