Q1 2024 Update - Freemans Event Partners

FEP News

New Food & Drink Retail Concept at Lord’s Cricket Ground

Building on our partnership with Marylebone Cricket Club, FEP will be launching a brand-new sporting stadium food and drink retail concept at Lord’s Cricket Ground this year.

The new two-floor structure will bring a wide variety of food and drink options together under one roof including takeout self-service and a premium bar operation on the upper deck. Self-checkout kiosks will provide a significantly quicker service experience which is expected to cut 36 seconds from the average transaction time, using known customer technologies.

The outlet is set to be introduced in May 2024 ready to be used by the 500,000 visitors that come to Lord’s each season.

James De Groot, Chief F&B Officer at MCC, said: “We are delighted to be working with Freemans Event Partners to further modernise the matchday experience at Lord’s Cricket Ground. With customer experience at the heart of what we do, we believe that this fresh and modern concept will bring a new energy and feel to matchdays, while reducing queues and improving the overall spectator experience.”

World-Class Fan Experience at Six Nations

EP delivered a world-class experience across the Six Nations at Twickenham Stadium and Murrayfield. Across 4 event days, over 150 food & drink options were available to rugby fans including award-winning street food providers, high street brands, local operators, and state-of-the-art high-volume bar outlets. Our 100% card-only operation allowed for live revenue reporting and data-driven stock forecasting across the events.

We conducted market research at Twickenham Stadium revealing high levels of customer satisfaction:

75% of spectators “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the variety of food & drink
Queue management systems keeping wait time below 5 minutes in 68% of cases
The restaurant-quality food served from our semi-permanent outlet Union15 was rated “excellent” by 44% respondents
Positive feedback submitted by spectators included friendly & quick service and lots of high-quality food choices

New Carbon Labelling Partner: Klimato

We are delighted to announce our partnership with sustainability technology specialist Klimato who will calculate the levels of carbon that go into creating every menu item we serve. This partnership will allow carbon labelling information to be placed on our menus across our full event calendar. 15 million customers over 550 event days will be able to clearly see the carbon impact of the food & drink they purchase. At the same time, we will be undertaking a full review of our menus to update any existing recipes that score highly and where possible switch out certain ingredients or cooking methods to a more sustainable alternative.

Simon Hanna, Chief Operations Officer, Freemans Event Partners, said: “More and more consumers are interested in making sustainable food and drink choices and this new partnership with Klimato will enable them to do that just as easily when at some of the UK’s biggest events, as when they are at home.” “The technology means we can also look to optimise every dish on our menu to ensure it has the lowest carbon impact possible without losing any of the great taste and quality we are known for.”

Industry News

The European Stadiums Revolutionising Fan Experience & Revenue Streams

European football clubs are undergoing significant stadium renovations and fan experience development to capitalise on diverse revenue streams beyond matchdays by creating immersive and lucrative experiences for fans. The concept sees stadiums that used to host 25 matchdays a year into multipurpose entertainment venues open all year round.

For example, Real Madrid’s €1.2bn project for the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium introduces a retractable roof for concerts and advanced pitch storage facilities. This transformation aims to attract top international acts like Taylor Swift, with revenue projections matching broadcast rights earnings. The food & beverage offering at the stadium has been developed, competing with neighbouring restaurants, encouraging dwell time and customer spend within the stadium.

This trend extends across Europe, with clubs like Tottenham Hotspur setting new standards with their state-of-the-art facilities. Completed in 2019, the stadium has substantially increased match-day revenues through enhanced fan experiences, including premium hospitality offerings and diversified events like concerts and NFL matches. The stadium boasts premium hospitality options such as The H Club, offering food cooked by celebrity chefs, and The Vault, offering premium whiskeys. These upgrades not only provide a premium food & beverage experience for fans but also significantly contribute to match day revenues which have surged by almost 50% in the past 5 years.

The integration of excellent food & beverage into stadium design emphasises the pivotal role it plays in elevating the overall fan experience and driving sustainable commercial success for football clubs.

Co-Op Live Arena to Open in April

The UK’s only music-first arena, Co-Op Live is set to open its doors this April. The 23.5k capacity arena will host more than 120 major live events and be home to 32 bars, restaurants and lounges. The arena will set new standards for music venues boasting the largest floor space of any indoor venue, a significantly lower ceiling, and tiered seating to bring fans closer to the artist. 2024’s artist line up will kick off with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie in May, with other global artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Barry Manilow, Nicki Minaj, and The Killers set to perform at the venue.

Stephen Freeman, CEO to Talk at Propel Multi-Club

We are delighted to announce that Stephen Freeman, CEO will be speaking at the Propel Multi-Club Conference this month at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, in London.

Stephen will be joining an all-star speaker line up to talk about how Freemans has grown to become the food & beverage provider at Wembley, Lord’s, Twickenham, Silverstone and other iconic venues in the UK & Europe. He will also cover the evolution of the fan experience at major events.