Socialisation in Life & Stadiums: Attracting Gen Y & Gen Z

I recently spent a few days at the New Year’s Cricket test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (for non Australian readers — yes we have a sport that runs for five days!) and it reinforced to me the importance of providing social spaces for fans at stadiums.

Socialising is part of our lives and has been happening for over two decades at our work spaces with open plan offices and in our homes with open plan living. We like to be connected socially and it should be no different when it comes to stadiums and leisure activities in general.

In this article, I set out to further understand how Gen Y and Gen Z like to socialise — and how this influences their expectations from stadiums. I’m taking a look at why these cohorts attend sports events and, in cases where they don’t, investigating what is stopping them from doing so. I also looked into how these groups are spending their leisure dollars and where sports are placed in their share of wallet.

Source: Statista

The good news is that the experience economy is fuelled by Millennials and Gen Z and they account for nearly 50% of those attending sporting events so stadiums and stadium operators are left with ample opportunity to buy into the experiential approaches required to reach these audiences. 77% of Millennials say some of their best memories are linked to events and live experiences, according to Eventbrite. 69% of this group believes attending such events will make them more connected to both their communities and the rest of the world.

Socialisation is key in reaching Gen Z and Gen Y.

These insights should not come as a surprise because Millennials and Gen Z are known to place high value on unique, meaningful experiences. So, how do we as stadiums respond? How can we go about providing social spaces and marketing them that will grab the attention of the next generation of fans who are outside of the hard core fanatics.

Let’s take a look at some best-in-class examples of stadiums around the world who are doing it right and who they are looking to target.

Cricket Australia

Let’s focus on Australia’s national summer pastime: cricket. The evolution of the summer test match are starting to transform a ‘regular day at the cricket’ into a day of entertainment and more recently non-stop socialising and – giving both hard core traditional fans and occasional/non fans reasons to attend.

‘The Boundary Social’ activation between the Stadiums and Cricket Australia was a great example that clearly targeted the socialisation of the day. Rarely are cricket test sold out across the summer so space is easily afforded for more premium and good value for money offers. The MCG and SCG opted for repurposed whole Bay Areas of the stadium for the Boundary Social, whilst Perth took advantage of the summer weather with a pool deck called ‘The Boundary Beach Club’. The Adelaide Oval also does a fantastic job every year with ‘The Village Green’ event activation targeting the casual cricket supporter and expanding the fan appeal to women through female-focused drinks and the carnival-like atmosphere. These are good examples and fairly easy to replicate across rectangular stadiums as well, potentially for the whole season as rarely are sellout crowds attending rugby, rugby league and soccer matches.

The 14m-long Boundary Beach Club pool is built across three bays at Perth Stadium. (Source: Optus Stadium)

The Adelaide Oval also does a fantastic job every year with The Village Green aimed at casual cricket support and expanding the demographic balance through an upbeat carnival-inspired atmosphere. Source: (PB Visual)

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

In their report, ‘The Stadium Experience: Keeping sports fans engaged — and loyal’, Deloitte found the most prevalent satisfaction attributes include experiences unique to the stadium, the ability to sit with groups of fans that have similar interests, diverse dining and socialising options in or near the stadium, entertainment options both before and after the game, and live entertainment during the event.

Entertainment before, during and after events is a rising demand, especially among Gen Z. More than half of Gen Z spectators plan social activities before and after the game to prolong the excitement of the event itself.

Stadiums like Mercedes-Benz Stadium (MBS) are tapping into this trend with initiatives like the AT&T Perch, a covered seating area decked out with over 100 screens where season ticket holders are invited and encouraged to arrive earlier and stay on after the game to catch up with fellow supporters.

Also at MBS, the Gullwing Club offers top-class F&B services that members can enjoy in a social community space or take back to one of the private suites.

If stadiums can succeed in extending dwell-time in and around the arena, a culture of community and socialisation would be cultivated and, on top of that, F&B concessions would greatly benefit from the increased number of hungry mouths.

The open-air AT&T Perch on MBS’s 200 Concourse Level is the ideal place for visitors to connect with their favourite teams and befriend fellow fans. (Source: ALSD)

Progressive Field

Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland, Ohio is home to the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. To improve their appeal to Gen Y & Gen Z they created a family-friendly offering, the baseball park created a dedicated kid’s club where children between the ages of 2-12 can play and have fun and this is important as Gen Y and Gen Z are more inclusive – going to sport is not just ‘Dad’s’ domain any longer. This type of thinking will be an important factor when designing stadiums moving forward: diversity and inclusivity.

Source: MLB

Inglewood SoFi Stadium

In September 2019, the first tenants were announced for the major Hollywood Park development neighbouring the Inglewood SoFi Stadium in Las Vegas. With a brand new retail, dining, office, housing and hotel hub, the precinct will have an incredible impact on the stadium’s social and entertainment value.

The space is also host to a beer garden and eatery along with a gym, serving as a solid motivation for fans to visit the arena throughout the year, carving the stadium itself into a pillar of community engagement and social interaction. Connecting fans to the stadium on non event days to use the food and beverage facilities is something that is becoming increasingly more relevant, its creating closer ties. 

For many, the beer garden with its on-site brewery and outdoor seating area is the most popular addition to the Hollywood Park development in Las Vegas. (Source: SoFi Stadium)

Capping off...

These are great examples of stadium operators and in some cases sports hirers working together to drive more traffic into the stadium.

However, it all comes back to how we like to socialise; a constant reminder that we need to keep innovating and raising the bar to stay on top of the game when it comes to Gen Y and Gen Z.

When thinking about all this in your stadium or arena, it’s potentially looking at small pieces and slowly building up to larger activations. The space you have at your disposal will guide the process and make room for bespoke experiences. A scarcely used area of the stadium can be transformed into an exceptional social space to drive pre and post match revenue. Think about how the spaces at your stadium or arena are being used and how they can be leveraged into something great that provides these alternate ways of socialising.

To successfully execute these social-centric strategies, here is a golden rule: 

Good ideas only win half the battle. These event activations need to be exceptionally executed – anything less or part done will be found out. Remember that we are in a constant battle for the hearts, minds and wallets of Gen Y and Gen Z and they demand the best.

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Ground Control is a leading global advisory for airports, stadiums and brands. Spearheaded by Adam Summerville and Kevin Zajax, we develop and implement world-class F&B programs that improve ROI through memorable customer experiences.

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