JSP to attend Stadia & Arena Conference in Istanbul

Dominic Jordan- Managing Director of JSP explains why he is attending this years event- “The show brings together leading industry figures from all sectors of sports venue design, operations and revenue generation to network, learn and knowledge share and as a leading consultancy within this space it is imperative for JSP to be attending these types of events”. 

Connected Stadiums-The Fans Point of View

We’ve just picked up a timely post about stadium WiFi published on an Arsenal FC fan blog and it makes for interesting reading as it comes directly from a die-hard football fan.

First of all, a bit of background on the site, Le-Grove: was set up in late 2007 by Geoff and Pedro. They set out to create a place where Arsenal fans could talk about whatever they liked football-wise without the fear of aggressive recriminations. The site has posted over 1,600 times and has over 1,000,000 comments approved and published.

I am always amazed by the diligence and passion that football club fan sites engender and Le-Grove is no exception. Whatever you might think of The Gunners – I think that fans in the mould of Geoff and Pedro are worth their weight in gold. What’s more, their opinions count.

Anyway, Pedro wrote a post where, apart from opening up a debate about Arsenal’s inability to deal effectively with teams coming to defend and try to steal a point, reflected on the need for WiFi at football grounds.

Pedro writes: “As there’s not much going on, I thought I’d open up a debate around in game WIFI at sports clubs. Liverpool have installed access to 12,000 fans, Manchester City are starting to work on the problem and my client, Saracens, had it up in the stadium yesterday so fans could interact with the brand before, during and after the game.

Then comes the important bit: “The big issue lots of Arsenal fans have with the concept is that it might drain the atmosphere with people looking at their phones all game.”

This is a point of view that we have heard many times in discussions with sports fans and indeed many commentators also have this atavistic and fearful response to the introduction of “new technologies” such as stadium WiFi.

To set the record straight: WiFi is a very mature technology and has been in use for around 20 years. It’s stable, secure and has the ability to provide exceptionally fast connectivity.

So it was very welcome to read Pedro’s reaction to the availability of WiFi at the Saracens rugby ground. He writes that he saw no evidence that WiFi drained the atmosphere.

“Well, it certainly didn’t affect the rugby that way yesterday. I find the idea of being able to get access to streams of in game data an exciting one. The main difference between being at the game and being able to watch it on TV is the wealth of information you get with TV. If you could get the stats as the game went on it’d be an enhancement of the match day experience.

“If you could get access to replays or even the little snippets you don’t get… like on Saturday, I didn’t see what the penalty was given for. Quite often, if I don’t get home after a game, I get little parts of my match report wrong because I don’t have eyes good enough to pick out the bits you do on TV.

Pedro also understands that “from a purist’s point of view” fans should 100% focus on the game but he says: “Let’s step into reality for a moment here. People chat amongst themselves, look at their phones, call people to find out what’s going on elsewhere… switch off. Not to mention the amount of down time that happens through a game. I know online, everyone is the greatest fan that ever did live, but in reality, looking around the ground, that’s not true 100% of the time.”

And Pedro concludes with our mantra at JSP & Connected Everywhere, and just to be clear, he has no association whatsoever with us.

He writes: “You can’t fight the future… if they can web up the Underground, they’ll crack stadiums. Then they’ll start driving revenue from fans with food & beer offers, betting deals and score related merchandise offers. “

We’ll keep an eye on the debate and report back as it develops but let us know what you think about free, fast and secure fan WiFi at football grounds.

JSP Attend Soccerex European Forum in Manchester for the third year running

 

 

Dominic Jordan Managing Direcor of Jordan Sports Partnerships will once again attend Soccerex for this elite 2 day event focusing on the commercial issues in the game. The Soccerex European Forum, Europe’s leading football business event, conference and exhibition, will return to Manchester for its fourth year on 10-11 April 2013. The event provides unprecedented business opportunities for Europe’s football industry elite for two days of debate, networking and socialising. The Soccerex European Forum is a “must-attend event” for anyone in the football business industry. This Forum offers the ideal setting to do business, source new contacts, catch up with existing ones, discover the latest innovations in the industry and above all, meet your business objectives. If you would like to meet up with Dominic whilst a Soccerex please make contact on dj@jordansportspartnerships.co.uk to schedule a meeting over the two days.

Lord Cole Hails Positive Community work of the Premier League

Lord Coe, chairman of the British Olympic Association and architect of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has hailed the positive work done by Premier League clubs in their communities, particularly with respect to sports participation.

Writing the introduction for the Premier League Creating Chances 2012 report, released today, Lord Coe said: ‘The Premier League is to be applauded for ensuring that thousands of young people will get their opportunity to participate in sport. For years the Premier League has been delivering in the area of sports participation and they, like me, are heartened to see that in 2012 this issue moved higher up the agenda for Government.’

Lord Coe went on to elaborate on the breadth of community work that Creating Chances projects cover:  ‘It’s not just about sport. In this document are some powerful examples of partnership having an impact on young people in these shores and afar: Kickz with the police, Premier Skills with the British Council, Reading Stars with the National Literacy Trust, over 80 community projects funded by the Premier League Professional Footballers’ Association Community Fund. And that’s just the League; you now have the likes of Liverpool and Sunderland acting as lead agencies in their city for men’s health and family learning. Professional football is now a recognised best practice provider of social development.’

Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, said: ‘The Premier League, like most sports bodies, is not a recent convert to the power of our players, clubs and activities to engage. The focus on sport during 2012 has put the role and ability of organisations like us to deliver across a range of areas right back in the centre of the political debate and the public’s mind. We are proud of the facilities being built and the practitioners whose drive and professionalism is making a real difference to thousands of young people from all backgrounds throughout the country.’

The 64-page report details the work that the Premier League clubs deliver at the heart of their communities in five key areas: community cohesion, sport participation, health, education and international. Over the past year, 843 club projects have been active under the Creating Chances banner, engaging 541,750 individuals in the process. These people attended 4.14 million times – an average of 7.6 attendances per individual.

UKVMA Meet at Cardiff City FC Tuesday 12th March 2013

Please make a note in your diary that the next UKVMA meeting will take place on:

Tuesday 12th March

at Cardiff City FC

 

Agenda

 
10.00  Registration and coffee
10.30  Neil Levett – UKVMA house notes / updates etc
10.45  SGSA – Spectator safety – an SGSA perspective on opportunities and challenges
11.30  Michael Cunnah – Stadium Manager software
12.15  Balfour Beatty Workplace
12.30  Lunch
13.15  MottMac – Andrew Walsh – Thoughts from a transport perspective
14.00  NCR Tom Bell
14.15  Populous – An insight into how Venue Managers need to accommodate sponsorship
15.00  Cardiff City FC – Tour of Stadium

please email info@jordansportspartnerships.co.uk if you would like to find out more or book a free place at the event.

Premier League Clubs not monetising empty seats

Premier League football clubs are missing out on millions of pounds in lost home game revenue by failing to maximize match day sales, according to the latest analysis by BDRC Continental’s Sports and Sponsorship Insight team.

Seats, plus the resulting cross-selling opportunities from food, beverages and programmes, are reportedly costing clubs up to £7 million per year.

Already struggling this season in the Barclays Premier League, BDRC Continental estimates that Aston Villa are missing out on £366,621 every home game, more than any club in the competition, with the missed opportunities set to cost the club just shy of £7 million this year.

Sunderland AFC follows just behind, scoring a missed revenue opportunity of over £6.5 million per year, while Wigan Athletic and Everton could pocket £4.2 million and £3.1 million per season respectively, if every seat was sold.

Newcastle, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion also miss out on valuable revenues to the tune of £2.3 million, £2 million and £1.8 million respectively. 

While the top seven register significant lost revenue opportunities, three further clubs QPR, West Ham and Manchester City also notch up more than £1 million per season, while the rest manage to restrict their lost revenue to under the million mark. 

However, despite league leaders Manchester City missing out on up to £1 million a year, they still fill on average 97.7% of the 48,000 capacity Etihad Stadium. Meanwhile, Wigan Athletic only use 74.4% of their 25,138 seats.

Swansea City best avoid missed revenue, losing just £5,264 per match – or a shade over £100,000 per year – thanks to a 99% seat utilisation.

Mark Long, director of sports & sponsorship at BDRC Continental, said: ‘Since the Premier League announced its new financial controls, top-flight teams need to address how they can turn this lost opportunity into valuable income. Under the new regime kicking off with the 2013/2014 season, any increase in match day revenue can help fund players so empty seats in the ground will have a direct impact on the quality of a club’s squad on the pitch.’

‘But it’s not just about slashing ticket prices to get supporters into the stadium; there is a balance to be achieved between attracting new fans and keeping loyal season ticket holders happy. And don’t forget the need to maximise on-site sales in the various retail outlets once fans are through the turnstiles. No two clubs are the same, however, so it’s never a ‘one size fits all’ solution. But through careful research and data analysis clubs can still move forward and optimise their fanbase to fill seats and impact the bottom line.’

The figures have been calculated based on the mean ticket price of category B seats. 

 

	Seats  used	Ground  capacity	Empty  seats	Mean  ticket  Price	Missed  rev per  match	Missed revenue per season
Aston Villa	80.1%	42,551	8,467	35.00	366,621	£6,965,800
Sunderland	81.9%	49,000	8,829	31.00	344,331	£6,542,289
Wigan	74.4%	25,138	6,479	27.00	220,933	£4,197,744
Everton	91.2%	40,394	3,520	38.50	163,328	£3,103,232
Newcastle	94.7%	52,387	2,730	36.00	120,120	£2,282,280
Southampton	92.7%	32,689	2,193	39.50	104,606	£1,987,515
WBA	89.7%	28,003	2,923	25.00	96,751	£1,838,274
QPR	93.2%	19,148	1,297	47.50	71,983	£1,367,686
West Ham	97.1%	35,647	1,046	49.00	60,145	£1,142,755
Manchester City	97.7%	48,000	1,095	43.00	56,940	£1,081,860

Premier League Clubs Agree Spending Controls

The Premier League has announced that clubs will be dealt a points deduction if they break new spending regulations, similar to the Financial Fair Play controls proposed by UEFA.

As part of the ‘break even’ model, every Premier League club will not be allowed to make a loss of more than £105m over the next three seasons. Clubs must also limit their spending on player wage bills from the beginning of next seasons, however costs on stadia and academies will be exempt from the model.

The new spending controls, which are aimed to ensure the sustainability of clubs, are less stringent than the financial regulations recommended UEFA, which states that clubs may only make a total loss of up to £38m.

Premier League boss Richard Scudamore commented: ‘If people break the £105m we will look for the top-end ultimate sanction range – a points deduction. As with all things in our rulebook, you will be subject to a disciplinary commission. Normally we stay silent on sanctions as the commission has a free range but clearly if there is a material breach of that rule we will be asking the commission to consider top-end sanctions.’

According to the most recent financial reports of Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, all three clubs made losses of more than £105m over the last three years. 13 Premier League clubs voted in favour of the new spending controls, while six voted against and Reading abstained.

Scudamore added: ‘A new owner can still invest a decent amount of money to improve their club but they are not going to be throwing hundreds and hundreds of millions [of pounds] in a very short period of time. While it has worked for a couple of clubs in the last 10 years, if that’s going to be done in the future it’s going to have to be over a slightly longer term without the huge losses being made. I think at £105m you can still build a very decent club with substantial owner funding but you have to do it over time, not in a season.’