Sodexo is to enhance ticketing, hospitality and conference facilities at Hampden Park as part of a new 10-year deal with Scotland’s national football stadium.
The new agreement will see the Scottish Football Association and Sodexo, who have worked together since 1999, form a strategic upweighted commercial partnership, with Sodexo taking the lead on driving Hampden’s revenues as a venue, investing in facilities, branding, hospitality, and sales and marketing.
As part of the new partnership, Sodexo is investing £1.7m in upgraded hospitality facilities and reengineering the venue for a new product mix, in addition to new sales and marketing roles.
Sodexo will also invest in technology to upgrade the consumer experience at the venue and drive efficiencies and better insight for the team. This investment will include new digital solutions to support conferencing and events, hospitality, ticketing and bookings, as well as digital EPOS and screens across retail counters.
Anton Fagan, the Scottish FA’s head of stadium operations, said: “Since taking ownership of Hampden Park, the Scottish FA has made it one of our top priorities to improve the stadium facilities.
“The improvements that Sodexo have committed to making through this new partnership will not only benefit the match day experience but also transform the stadium into a top-class, year-round venue for events, which in turn will increase revenue that we can subsequently re-invest in the national game.
“The experience that Sodexo bring to this partnership and their commitment to reinvigorating the stadium will be instrumental in helping us achieve our goal of developing Hampden Park into a source of pride for the nation.”
Eight of the existing hospitality boxes will be combined to create two ‘Superboxes’ with a terrace offering panoramic views over the pitch and a direct connection to some of the most-sought seats in the ground. These superboxes will become private dining rooms on non-matchdays. Sodexo will also introduce a ‘Club Seat’ package – a match-by-match premium seat, which can be pre-booked and licenced for alcohol sales.
The existing café, Nevis Suite, Lomond Suite and two of the Silver Lounges will also be upgraded as part of a new tiering strategy for all hospitality at the venue, with seven different price points depending upon the offer, facility and fixture.
David Trotter, Sodexo’s sports and stadia divisional managing director, said: “I am delighted to be continuing our long-lasting partnership with the Scottish FA for a further 10 years. Hampden Park has great memories for many people; we can’t wait to welcome people back to create more unforgettable experiences.
“This fantastic project has considered four spaces where we believe we can create a collection of next-generation hospitality spaces which encourage guests to stay longer by working intuitively at different times of the day and stretch far beyond the matchday.”
Hampden Park stages some of the biggest fixtures in Scotland’s football calendar, such as the Scottish Cup final and international matches. In the coming month it will stage four UEFA Euro 2020 matches and regularly hosts concerts and events too.
Image: Martin Le Roy / This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license / cropped for size
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