On Thursday 24th May 2012, The American Express Community Stadium, home to Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club hosted The Stadium Experience – Official Football Hospitality Awards 2012.
Now in their 8th year, the awards recognize the efforts and dedication shown by the catering, conference and events team at every UK football club. All areas of this vital part of the business operation of football clubs were represented at the ceremony: from chefs, waiting staff and kitchen porters to catering directors and catering teams from the Premier League to League Division 2. The overall winner of the evening was Aston Villa Football Club, who scooped the prestigious award of overall Matchday Hospitality Experience Award Winners of 2012, fighting off some very tough competition from across the Leagues.
The evenings award winners were as follows:
Media Choice Award (Voted for by the national press and reporters attending matches across the UK)
WINNER Manchester City FC SILVER Aston Villa FC BRONZE Newcastle United FC
Directors Choice in League 2 (Voted for by the board of directors at league 2 clubs when they visit an away match) Bradford City FC
Directors Choice in League 1 (Voted for by the board of directors at League 1 clubs when they visit an away match) MK Dons FC
Directors Choice in the Championship (Voted for by the board of directors at Championship clubs when they visit an away match) Brighton & Hove Albion FC
Directors Choice in the Scottish Premier League (Voted for by the board of directors at SPL clubs when they visit an away match) Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC
Directors Choice in the Premier League (Voted for by the board of directors at Premiership clubs when they visit an away match) Everton Football Club FC
Chef Team of the Year sponsored by Salon Culinaire (Live theatre competition in January 2012 in front of Salon Culinaire chef judges)
WINNER Aston Villa FC SILVER Everton FC BRONZE Morecambe FC BRONZE Newcastle United FC
Conference & Events Sales & Marketing Award sponsored by bdrc Continental (Judged by a mystery shopper style telephone call enquiry and follow up process) WINNER Swansea City FC SILVER Manchester City FC BRONZE Aston Villa FC
Special Achievement Award (Judged by panel including KJL (HR) Consultancy Services) WINNER Kath Cassidy, Newcastle United FC SILVER Ruth Melton, Brighton & Hove Albion FC BRONZE David Tougher, Hampden Park Stadium
Star For The Future Award (Judged by panel including KJL (HR) Consultancy Services) WINNER Joshua Isaac, Swansea City FC SILVER Scott Matheson, Hampden Park FC BRONZE Matthew Joy, Stoke City FC
The Green Award (Voted for by the Stadium Experience Awards committee) WINNER Aston Villa FC SILVER Brighton & Hove Albion FC BRONZE Wembley Stadium
Fans Choice Award – The Football Pie League WINNER Arsenal (voted for by fans using The Football Pie League Facebook fan page) SILVER Brighton & Hove Albion FC BRONZE Chelsea FC
Matchday Hospitality Experience Awards (Reported by professional chef judges who experienced hospitality at 26 UK clubs over a period of 6 months and had a strict point scoring criteria from parking access, signage and welcome to the food quality and standards of service.)
Matchday Hospitality Award in League 2 Morecambe FC
Matchday Hospitality Award in League 1 AFC Bournemouth Matchday Hospitality Award in the Championship Birmingham City FC
Matchday Hospitality Award in Scottish Premier & National Stadia Hampden Park Stadium
Matchday Hospitality Award in the Premier League & National Stadia Aston Villa FC
OVERALL Matchday Hospitality Experience Award WINNER Aston Villa FC SILVER Newcastle United FC BRONZE Hampden Park Stadium
Delighted with the evening’s success, Stadium Experience Chair Person Lisette Maas, from Notts County Football Club, commented: “The recognition given to those nominated and those who won awards is vital to the morale and continued dedication of the catering and events departments at our football clubs. They work tirelessly behind the scenes on matchdays and non-matchdays, to ensure that in some instances up to 90,000 visitors are catered for.”
Also recognized on the night were the founding members of Stadium Experience, which is celebrating 10 years this year. The organization was set up in 2002 to promote and market the UK’s Football Stadia as venues to the conference and event market.
Plans are already underway for next year’s awards for Thursday 23rd May 2013 at one of the other great Stadium Experience venues.