Tech will win Stadium Wars

There’s been a lot of publicity and press headlines in Australia recently around F&B offers in stadiums with queuing, pricing and lack of staff leading to an underwhelming experience.

To be fair some stadium offers are really good and getting better, the majority, however, are not so great - although this is mainly driven by ageing infrastructure and facilities that simply cannot cope with crush periods as much as anything else.

We have recently been working with multiple stadiums and sports precincts on addressing the issue and assisting them by looking at the next ten years, helping them to understand what are the absolute fundamentals that will drive a modern, ambitious and best in class F&B offer.

We have noted 2 must-dos and must-haves in a stadium F&B offer to not only remain in line with what customers expect but to exceed those expectations.

1. Tech-driven Offer

Tech-driven offers including outlets such as Amazons ‘walk out’ market will be an absolute no brainer for the industry. The tech solves several of the current key issues starting with queuing?and staff levels. Not only that it allows the customer to spend as little or as much time as they like selecting the food and beverage best suited to them without the pressure of a belly up offer. The other added benefits are the integration of retail and merchandise which will have a positive impact on sales. Every stadium should now be looking at making the investment in this space as it will be an expected part of the offer in as little as 12 months from now and with a ‘few’ stadiums in Australia already well advanced you can certainly expect to see the ‘walk out’ stores coming to Australia before years end.

Customers enter the market through gates that require a credit card or palm scan. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

The market (at Seattle Mariners) has a small selection of merchandise to drive sales. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

The second tech-driven initiative should be investing into in-seat delivery - again in our eyes a no brainer when it comes to delivering an exceptional customer experience. Most stadiums that host football codes of any description go through the usual crush periods during extended breaks in the game, so literally the opposite happens to concessions stands and bars during play – they are nearly empty. Now whilst it’s nice to see staff facing up the drinks fridge, driving revenue would be a better outcome. Delivery to seats during the game is where the ‘holy grail’ of revenue can come from. Like ‘walk out’ stores it solves several of the current/ongoing issues. It can reduce queuing during crush periods as more fans will get their food and beverage outside of peak times and it will drive revenue more evenly across the game and most likely drive incremental sales. The ‘old’ barrier of cost to do the delivery can also be negated as food delivery services in our ordinary lives have accustomed customers to small delivery fees being acceptable. Again the tech is available now and stadiums should be looking at investing in this space even if it's just delivering beer through a promotion with a beverage supplier or going all out and delivering anything on the menu.

2. Modernise your F&B offers

The second must-do is to modernise your F&B offers. Looking at Australian and global trends of stadia hospitality offerings, visions are clearly moving from the traditional, private label concessional stand models and evolving into appealing social destinations tenanted by well-known high street operators, chef partners and brands. This shift seeks to leverage the associations for greater connection with, and attraction of, a wider audience. Again some stadiums in Australia are making the shift and certainly, the larger volume ones are more attractive to high street brands and high profile chef-led offers. Recently the biggest stadium shake-ups' at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) have seen Merivale come into operate the former with a vision to bring best in class high street hospitality into the stadium environment, bringing along with them some of Sydney’s and Australia’s best chef talent and brands. The MCG through the recent appointment of Delaware North has also taken some steps down this path with the introduction of several high street operators and high profile chefs such as Guy Grossi into the culinary mix. Early indications certainly from the SCG have customer satisfaction metrics well above previous marks with revenue per head getting a healthy uplift also.

The Merivale Chef team looking after the Sydney Swans at the SCG

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

Ground Control. Memorable Experiences. Superior Returns.