Stadium Industry Updates 19 December 2023

Hearts to open new stadium hotel, Greece and Turkey take safety measures, Liverpool opens Anfield Road Stand and more in this week's ESSMA Stadium Industry Updates!

Levy expands into sports merchandising

Catering company Levy UK + Ireland has announced the launch of a new merchandising division as part of plans to diversify its portfolio and deliver a more immersive experience for fans. Levy Merchandising will design and manufacture a wide range of sportswear, from technical products to non-technical fanwear. The company will also produce a range of souvenirs and accessories, with all products to be ethically sourced with factories that have undergone stringent audit processes. Levy said the launch of the new division ties in with the company’s wider vision to create memorable experiences and engage with fans on a broader scale.

Read more at: https://levy.co.uk/latest/levy-ventures-into-sports-merchandising-market/#:~:text=Levy%20Merchandising%20will%20design%20and,range%20of%20souvenirs%20and%20accessories.

Heart of Midlothian set to open stadium hotel

Scottish Premiership football club Heart of Midlothian has announced that its new on-site hotel will open at Tynecastle Park in early 2024. The 25-bedroom hotel and events space will be integrated within the main stand at Tynecastle, with Hearts claiming that it will be the first club-owned and operated hotel inside a UK football stadium. The Tynecastle Park Hotel will offer a choice of individually styled guest rooms, including family, executive and accessible rooms. The space will also feature a club lounge and a choice of six new dedicated meeting, conference and event spaces. The guest rooms will feature en-suite showers, monsoon showers and emperor-size beds. Selected rooms will feature technology to provide guests with the option of a live view of the pitch or the Edinburgh skyline on HD plasma screens. The existing Skyline Restaurant, which sits on the top floor of the main stand, will be open seven days a week for overnight guests and non-residents.

Read more at: https://www.hotelowner.co.uk/173007-heart-of-midlothian-football-club-to-open-tynecastle-park-hotel/#:~:text=This%20will%20be%20the%20UK's,hotel%20inside%20a%20football%20stadium&text=Scottish%20Premiership%20football%20club%2C%20Heart,growth%20plans%20in%20early%202024.

Greek football matches to be played behind closed doors, while Turkish league games are postponed indefinitely

Top-tier Greek football matches will be played behind closed doors for two months after a police officer was left with serious injuries following a fan attack at a volleyball game, while Turkish Süper Lig fixtures have been suspended after a referee was attacked by Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca. The attack on the police officer took place during a volleyball match between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos, who are owned by the football teams of the same name. The police officer was hit by a flare thrown by a supporter and is being treated in hospital. Super League football matches were postponed at the weekend following the incident, and the Greek government has now taken further action by banning fans from attending games.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has announced that matches in all leagues have been postponed indefinitely after an attack on referee Halil Umut Meler.

TV footage captured Ankaragucu president Koca storming the pitch at full-time to throw a punch at Meler. Ankaragucu had just drawn 1-1 at home against Rizespor, with the visitors scoring an equaliser in the 97th minute.

Read more at: https://www.thestadiumbusiness.com/2023/12/12/greek-football-goes-behind-closed-doors-turkish-super-lig-suspended/#:~:text=Government%20spokesperson%20Pavlos%20Marinakis%20has,owned%20by%20top%2Dtier%20clubs

Liverpool gets green light to open new stand

Liverpool FC has announced that Anfield is set to welcome its biggest crowd in half a century for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Manchester United, after the club’s new Anfield Road Stand staged a successful test event. After putting the first spade in the ground when construction work began in September 2021, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp was the headline guest as 7,000 fans attended the free test event on Monday evening. Liverpool is now looking forward to welcoming more than 57,000 fans to Anfield at the weekend, with the next stage of the planned phased opening of the new Anfield Road Stand seeing the expanded upper tier officially open for supporters for the first time. Following the test event, Liverpool City Council announced that it had granted all the necessary health and safety licences for the facility. The Council said in a statement on Twitter/X: “The Council’s Ground Safety Advisory Group (GSAG) has recommended @LFC be granted a new interim safety certificate for #Anfield stadium allowing an extra 7,000 fans into the upper tier of the new Anfield Rd stand. The approval follows a successful test event.

Read more at: https://www.thisisanfield.com/2023/12/liverpool-get-green-light-for-57000-vs-man-united/ 

Emirates Old Trafford events provide £22.5m boost to local economy

New research from Marketing Manchester has revealed the estimated economic impact of Emirates Old Trafford’s major events in 2023 to be worth in excess of £22.5m to the local economy. Marketing Manchester is a not-for-profit agency charged with promoting Greater Manchester on a national and international stage. The company has helped Emirates Old Trafford evaluate across a range of economic-related impacts associated with staging major sporting and entertainment events. During 2023, Emirates Old Trafford hosted international cricket, Vitality Blast, The Hundred, and two sold-out Arctic Monkeys concerts. Over 400,000 tickets were bought for major events at the stadium, while a further 150,000 guests either stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn or attended conferences and events throughout the year.

Read more at: https://emiratesoldtrafford.lancashirecricket.co.uk/news/2023/emirates-old-trafford-events-drive-22-5-million-boost-to-the-greater-manchester-economy/

King Power Stadium development plan gets green light

Leicester City has received formal approval for its King Power Stadium expansion project, with the Championship football club stating that it will now seek to reassess its proposals in light of what it says are significantly changed “market dynamics” from when the plans were first submitted.Leicester confirmed in October 2021 that it had submitted its hybrid planning application to Leicester City Council. Details of the project were first revealed in July 2021, with the plans including a proposal to expand King Power Stadium’s capacity from 32,312 to around 40,000 and introduce a mixed-use development that will feature a new arena. The plans were initially approved by the Council in September 2022, but a final decision had been held pending the finalisation of a Section 106 financial agreement in relation to the proposed development, which has now been concluded.

Leicester, which was relegated from the Premier League last season but currently sits top of the Championship table, said its developmental vision will be “transformational” for the city and the region.

Read more at: https://www.lcfc.com/stadiumconsultation?lang=EN  

Everton to debut at new stadium in 2025-26

 Everton has announced that it will play its first competitive fixtures at its new stadium at the start of the 2025-26 season, but the Premier League club has stressed that this decision is not because of a construction delay with the venue still scheduled to be completed in the final weeks of 2024. Everton interim CEO, Colin Chong, made the announcement following a recent meeting with the club’s Fan Advisory Board (FAB). Chong, also chief stadium development officer, said in June that the stadium remained “firmly on track” after reports suggested that the venue would not be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season. Chong moved to clarify that a precise moving-in date had never been publicly set by Everton, with the club having stated that the schedule of the development would see Laing O’Rourke hand over the keys “during” the 2024-25 season. Chong had not ruled out the possibility of Everton playing the entirety of the season at Goodison Park ahead of the move to Bramley-Moore Dock, with this decision being confirmed today.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/dec/15/everton-goodison-park-bramley-moore-stadium-2025#:~:text=Everton-,Everton%20to%20stay%20at%20Goodison%20Park%20next%20season,to%20new%20home%20in%202025&text=Everton%20are%20to%20move%20into,to%20finish%20late%20next%20year.