Hospitality at a sports stadium makes for a great day out. It’s a way of enhancing the match day experience for you, the spectator and taking it to the next level.
As a general rule hospitality in a stadium is the offering of said stadium’s premium venues, such as restaurants and bars, to its visitors. It is purchased as a package in advance. This comprises tickets and exclusive access to a particular venue in the stadium, depending on the package bought.
There’s a plenty more to cover when it comes to sports hospitality in a stadium. So keep reading below where I’ll explain it in a bit more detail.
I’ll also touch on why stadiums offer hospitality, the types of hospitality they offer, and why spectators, both private and corporate, like to use hospitality.
Sports Hospitality In Stadiums – An Overview.
The hospitality on offer in stadiums is, of course, dependent on the both the size of the stadium, and the number of exclusive hospitality venues (mostly restaurants, bars, suites and boxes) that are on offer in the Stadium. The latter is dictated by how much the stadium itself has decided to invest in its hospitality infrastructure.
The table below summarizes the different hospitality suites at the international rugby stadiums of England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland.
Using any of these rugby stadiums as an example, if you were to buy some hospitality tickets to a match, you’d typically get your tickets & gain access to one of the suites in the table below. Which of these suites would depend on the hospitality package that you chose.
If you’re interested to know how you should dress for the occasion, you should check out this post where I cover what to wear to a rugby hospitality event.
| Twickenham Stadium | Players’ Lounge | Rugby House | The East Wing | British Airways Rose Garden | The Lock | The Gate | Private Suite |
| Murrayfield Stadium | Hospitality Village | Thistle Suite | Centenary Club | Murrayfield Box | |||
| Principality Stadium | The Riverside Terrace | Player’s Lounge | St David’s Lounge | The Clubhouse | The South Stand Lounge | Private Hospitality Suite | |
| Aviva Stadium | Vavasour Restaurants | Havelock Restaurant | Presidents Suite | Corporate Box |
What Types Of Hospitality Do Stadiums Offer?
Generally stadiums will offer hospitality packages that appeal to as broader spectrum of their target market as possible. This includes both private and corporate clients and varies in the level of hospitality on offer. The price, of course, reflects this.
The more basic hospitality that a stadium will offer might be something as simple as:-
- Your tickets along with exclusive access to one of the more relaxed and informal suites in the stadium
- Access to the suite 3 hours before the match with closing time 1 and a half hours after the final whistle
- All food and drink would be included in the price
- Post match snacks
- Access to the suite at half time
For example, tickets to a match day at Twickenham and access to the British Airways Rose Garden Suite.
The highest level of hospitality in a stadium would be something like:-
- A private box – depending on the stadium, the box sizes and capacities will vary, but there will usually be a minimum and maximum guest count. I wrote an article all about hospitality boxes in stadiums which covers this in a lot more detail.
- Welcome drinks on arrival
- A dedicated host to serve drinks and answer questions
- Seats directly outside the box to watch the match – with access in and out of the box throughout the match
- Player appearances before and after kick-off, for both pre- & post-match Q&A
- A private bar
- A 3-course meal before the game with wines chosen by the in-house sommelier
- Half time refreshments
- Supper after the game
Non Match Day Hospitality In Stadiums.
Stadiums will also offer non-match day hospitality events. The theme will usually be around promoting the sport that the stadium hosts and might include:-
- Drinks on arrival
- An audience with celebrities of the game
- Dinner – in some cases pitch side
- Bar access
- Music
Why Do Stadiums Offer Hospitality?
Hospitality in stadiums is a no-brainer. It just makes sense commercially. There will always be a market for it. If a stadium can upsell match day tickets with some form of hospitality attached to them, then why wouldn’t they?
After all if they’ve invested in the infrastructure, then surely they should put it to good commercial use right?
Hospitality helps to build the brand of the sport and the brand of the stadium. Giving spectators the opportunity of an up close and personal audience with famous players past and present, not only creates new fans, but it strengthens the bond between the spectator and the stadium.
Hospitality in a stadium provides an exquisite backdrop for businesses when entertaining clients.
Why Pay For Hospitality In A Stadium?
If you’re a business
Businesses will entertain both clients and employees at sporting events. For the clients, it strengthens relationships. For the employees, it boosts staff morale and well-being.
It makes people really a part of the DNA of that company
Ryan Kinnear of Corinthian Sports on sports hospitality for employees
If you’re a fan
For the fans, it turns a normal match day visit of around 3 hours, into a match day experience of around 7 hours with food and drinks included along with the option of live music and audiences with players past & present.
But there’s a caveat…. It makes sense for the ones who can afford it. But what about the fans who can’t. The less standard tickets available, means more demand which threatens to drive the prices up.
An important thing to remember here is that the amount of hospitality that is being offered in a stadium on match day, directly affects the availability of non-hospitality, or standard tickets.
In simple terms, the more hospitality on offer, the less standard / non-hospitality tickets on sale. This results in less choice of where to sit for standard ticket holders; the case often being that a large proportion of the best seats are reserved for hospitality.
My Final Thoughts On Hospitality In Stadiums.
Hospitality in a stadium is similar to an all inclusive or semi-inclusive package holiday. You browse through a choice of packages and choose the one that best matches what you want to get from the day, and the amount of money you want to spend.
You pay that bit extra for the opportunity to use one of the stadium’s exclusive facilities for hours before the match starts, during half-time, and for an hour or so after the final whistle. And for the opportunity to get up close and personal with celebrities of the game.
This is bound to both enhance and maximise the fans’ experience of their day out at a stadium, watching the sport they love.