3
Sporting Venues
A game of two halves
Sporting venues have come a long way in the last 30 years.
What was once laughable is now the norm.
hen I started
going to
football, where
a club played its
matches was often referred to
as a ‘ground’. After all, that’s
what most of them were: a span
of earth with rickety wooden
stands and open-air terraces.
Standing in the Wandle End of
Wimbledon’s old Plough Lane
ground, with nothing protecting
you from the elements but a
thin hood, the idea that such a
place could be used for
corporate hospitality, let alone
conferences and meetings, was
as laughable as Wimbledon
beating Liverpool in the 1988
FA Cup Final.*
Times have changed. Today,
these ‘grounds’ are called
‘stadiums’, and rather than
timber framed, asbestos-roofed
stands and mud, they are
cathedrals of steel, glass, and
patterned carpets.
Unless you are bitterly
partisan about stepping into a
rival’s football stadium, then
there’s no denying that such
buildings make for smashing
event venues.
While an Evertonian wouldn’t
think of entering Anfield, the
bigger picture should not be
ignored. A Premier League
football club, for example, will
play 19 home matches at their
stadium each year (or football
season, if you prefer), and
maybe a couple of cup ties and,
if they’re especially well-monied,
the odd European fixture too. At,
say, 25 games a year, each
taking no more than a couple of
hours, stadiums spend most of
their time sitting there empty,
with just the groundsman for
company.
In this supplement we aim to
not only point out the obvious,
but offer you a morsel of what’s
out there.
www.conference-news.co.uk
It’s worth noting that it’s not
just football and rugby
stadiums, but racecourses and
race circuits, too. And cricket
arenas are in on the act, too.
And within these new shining
cathedrals, the catering and
hospitality contractors vie for
increased streams of custom.
Stadiums today aren’t just all
about sport. It’s a game of two
halves.
*Wimbledon 1-0 Liverpool,
Sanchez, ‘36
Martin Fullard, deputy editor
Conference News