Published by Neil ThompsonSpecialist events and hospitality teams from 40+ football, rugby and cricket venues across the UK have celebrated their ‘off the pitch’ successes at the 16th annual Stadium Events & Hospitality Awards.
The prestigious event, sponsored by both Global Payments and Hungrrr, was hosted place at St. Mary’s Stadium, home of Southampton FC. Around 400 guests attended to represent their teams in conference and events, matchday hospitality, chef teams, public catering, operational departments and senior management. They experienced a warm welcome to the south coast in the venues stunning Mike Channon Suite, which included a fine dining four course menu, with awards ceremony and live entertainment, before partying into the early hours of the morning until 4am.
The event is organised by Stadium Experience annually, and recognises the efforts and dedication shown by the catering, conference and events teams at every football, rugby and cricket stadium across the UK. 78 clubs were nominated for awards, with 20 different venues scooping at least one of 43 gongs (across 14 categories).
Independent Awards Judging
Each award category is independently judged. Some are voted for by stadium directors, and others are decided by teams of experts with many years of experience in their fields. Read more about the independent judging panel.
The Results…
Newcastle United Football Club scooped 4 of the top awards (plus other awards), including the top gong for Overall Matchday Hospitality Experience 2023, fighting off tough competition from 27 participating venues across the leagues. The full list of 2023 award winners include:
Non-Match Day Sales Team of the Year Award – Sponsored by Special Occasion Linen
This award recognises the best non-matchday sales team in stadium venues across the UK. Judges are specifically looking for teams demonstrating consistent growth, using new ideas to create unique and different events, whilst also providing value for money and overcoming any challenges.
WINNER – Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
SILVER – Chelsea Football Club
BRONZE – Headingley Stadium
Non-Matchday Mystery Shopper Award – Sponsored by Hi-Impact Media
Judged by HGEM, this award is based on a mystery shopper corporate/business event sales enquiry call and follow up email correspondence.
WINNER – Newcastle United Football Club
SILVER – London Stadium
BRONZE – Hull City Football Club
Match Day Sales Team of the Year Award – Sponsored by iVvy Venues
This award recognises the best matchday sales team in stadium venues across the UK. Judges are specifically looking for teams demonstrating consistent growth and using new ideas to drive sales and cross-selling.
WINNER – Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
SILVER – Hampden Park Stadium
BRONZE – Principality Stadium
Outstanding Contribution Award – Sponsored by Taste Beverages
This award recognises those individuals who are simply outstanding at what they do, and continuously shine. This may be someone at the start of their career, making great strides in their roles, or someone in a more senior role leading the way in excellence.
WINNER – Lucy Garry at Millwall Football Club
SILVER – Chris Reed at Newcastle United Football Club
BRONZE – Navjeet Daine at Chelsea Football Club
Best Stadium Events Venue Award – Sponsored by Rational
This award recognises the very best stadium events venue within the UK. Judges are specifically looking for a stadium venue which consistently displays exceptional venue facilities and outstanding guest experiences.
WINNER – Newcastle United Football Club
SILVER – Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
BRONZE – Chelsea Football Club
Chef Team of the Year Award – Sponsored by Chef Works & Bragard UK
This award was judged by Salon Culinaire chefs as part of the live kitchen event at the HRC Event at ExCel in London. Chefs teams had one hour to prepare, cook and present a three-course menu suitable for their Club Chairman to entertain the Head of the FA or RFU to dinner.
WINNER – London Stadium
SILVER – Manchester City Football Club
BRONZE – Chelsea Football Club
Operations Team of the Year Award – Sponsored by Braehead Foods
This award recognises the often unseen behind-the-scenes teams that make stadium events run so smoothly. Judges are looking for teams which go above and beyond the call of duty to provide the very best service to customers.
WINNER – Liverpool Football Club
SILVER – Manchester City Football Club
BRONZE – Newcastle United Football Club
Best Retail Catering Award – Sponsored by Rollover Hotdogs
This award recognises the best retail catering teams at stadia across the UK. This team will demonstrate commercial growth, high quality food offerings or proactive sustainability improvements.
WINNER – Hull City Football Club
SILVER – Tottenham Hotspur
BRONZE – Ashton Gate Stadium (Bristol)
Visiting Rugby Directors Award – Sponsored by Conference News
This award is voted for by Directors at rugby clubs. They are asked to nominate the club where they had the best away experience when travelling with their team. They are specifically asked to consider the welcome, service and catering when casting their votes.
WINNER – Bristol Bears Rugby Club
SILVER – Hull Football Club
BRONZE – Leicester Tigers Rugby Club
BRONZE – Leeds Rhinos Rugby Club
Visiting Football Directors Award – Sponsored by FC Business
This award is voted for by Directors at football clubs. They are asked to nominate the club where they had the best away experience when travelling with their team. They are specifically asked to consider the welcome, service and catering when casting their votes.
WINNER – Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
SILVER – Middlesbrough Football Club
BRONZE – West Ham United Football Club
Matchday Hospitality Awards – Sponsored by Chefs & Events Staffing
Reported by professional Salon Culinaire chef judges who experience hospitality at UK clubs this season using strict criteria. This is divided by size of hospitality offering with an award for:
Matchday Hospitality Award – Small Stadium (up to 1000 hospitality seats)
WINNER – Morecambe Football Club
SILVER – Ipswich Town Football Club
BRONZE – Hibernian Football Club
Matchday Hospitality Award – Medium Stadium (1001 – 2000 hospitality seats)
WINNER – Leeds Rhinos Rugby Club
SILVER – Everton Football Club
BRONZE – Stoke City Football Club
Matchday Hospitality Award – Large Stadium (2001+ hospitality seats)
WINNER – Newcastle United Football Club
SILVER – Manchester City Football Club
BRONZE – Aston Villa Football Club
Overall Matchday Hospitality Award – Presented by Global Payments and Hungrrr
This award pitches all sized clubs against all, to announce the overall winning UK stadium.
WINNER – Newcastle United Football Club
SILVER – Morecambe Football Club
BRONZE – Manchester City Football Club
Stadium Experience Chair Person Collette Salmon, commented: “Every year we go all out to showcase that stadia across the UK are at the top of their game when it comes to both hospitality and events. After an extremely challenging period, this has never been more important. Our member venues are always looking for new and innovative ways to deliver above and beyond customer expectations – Whether on a match day or on a non-match day. Our consortium works hard behind the scenes so the customers have a fantastic experience. This year’s awards evening was a fantastic celebration of all of this hard work. Huge congratulations to all of this year’s worthy winners.”
Steve McArdle from Global Payments, added: “Global Payments are extremely proud to have been accepted as this year’s headline sponsor, alongside our partners at Hungrrr. There is a direct connection on how technology can improve the customer experience and enhance operational performance. Global Payments have been a valuable innovator for the stadia and venue sector for many years, and we continue to work closely with clubs to improve those functionalities. Thank you to Stadium Experience and all the nominees and winners for contributing to a great evening. We look forward to seeing you again in 2024.”
