We were joined on the morning of Friday, October 15th by a group of Sport for Business members who are on the cutting edge of the return of corporate hospitality to our sporting stadia.

Greg Slattery of the Hospitality Partnership; Garret Tubridy and Jane Gilsenan from the IRFU are all getting ready for the return of substantial if not full capacity crowds for the November International matches against Japan, New Zealand and Argentina.

Neil Hanna of Ulster Rugby and Ciaran Kearney of the Northern Ireland Sports Forum gave us a perspective from the NI side that remains a couple of weeks ahead in terms of return to normal.

We also heard from Vikki Donlon of Horse Racing Ireland and Orla Strumble of Greyhound Racing Ireland about the ways in which hospitality is returning for spectators and sponsors.

Laura Mulvaney from KPMG and Sharon Woods from Bank of Ireland, as well as Paddy O’Brien of Thinkhouse on the agency side, talked us through the growing enthusiasm among guests to get back to sport.

We also touched base with Louise Thornton on the different challenges facing the United States in relation to next year’s Aer Lingus College Football Classic, with Elma Beirne of Line Up Sports on how talent appearances were also having to adapt, and with Brian McDermott of Fuel HQ about the things we have learned through the ‘virtual period’ and what some of the elements from that can do to enhance the live experience.

Outside of the gathering we spoke to Katie Bryan of Food and Drink at Wimbledon and Rob Garrigan of the FAI about their experiences.

60 minutes of sharing and conversation, from which our five key takeaways included:

  • There is optimism that the easing of restrictions will proceed next week but also multiple backup plans to ensure that what is allowed under current guidelines will be delivered in the best possible way. Whether that is at 60 per cent of capacity, only plated and served meals and no bar service, or whether it is closer to what we once were used to.
  • There is an appetite from the public to get back. Demand is high and there is a willingness to accept whatever needs to be done so that at least some form of social experience at events can return.
  • A survey from among those who attended suggested 75% felt we would be back to full capacity stadia within weeks with the remainder feeling it was likely to be 2022. In a wider poll of our network, the numbers were reversed however, perhaps impacted by unease from Government in the media. In that poll 59 per cent felt it would be next spring before a full return with 23 per cent feeling it would be sooner and 18 per cent unsure.
  • One of the biggest challenges is preparing for the multiple potential scenarios and having to build in additional training days for staff so that everyone is fully up to date at a point in time much closer to an event than would be normal.
  • Another is the shortage of staff and the global supply issues with products that would normally have been a staple on the menu.

Our Sport for Business Members Check-in events will take place on a regular basis on Friday mornings between 10 and 11 with our next events taking place as follows:

Friday, November 5th Changes to the Promotion of Alcohol at Sporting Events

Friday, November 12th Getting Workplaces Motivated through Social Sporting Activity

Watch out in the Sport for Business Daily Digest on how you can register to join us for these events or to suggest future gatherings where we can share and learn together.

 

 

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Sport for Business Partners