Industry update: more on stadium development, measures for visually-impaired supporters and fan experience

Read more on the reconstruction plans of Pogoń Szczecin, the opening match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Rangers FC’s Ramble Tag and more in ESSMA’s weekly industry update.

Fan Experience & Hospitality

  • The French Ligue de Football Professionel (LFP) is looking for the most loyal and fanatic supporter in all of France with its CrazyFan programme. LFP launched a football-related entertainment campaign to which each passionate fan of a Ligue 1 Conforama club can apply. Among all candidates, three finalists will be selected and will be at the heart of a television show for three weeks. After that, the public will pick the winner of the CrazyPass which includes a full VIP treatment at three matches of the winner’s favourite team.
  • The LFP launched an English podcast for its international fans of Ligue 1 Conforama. With this weekly showcase, LFP aims to enlarge the global target audience of French football. A podcast is supposed to have a long reach since it had almost 100 million weekly Anglophone listeners in 2018. Le Beau Jeu - as the podcast will be named - will be available on the official website, on LFP’s social media and on several specialised podcast platforms.
  • Scottish football club Rangers FC introduced a guidance aid for visually-impaired fans. The so-called Ramble Tag is an assistive tool to help supporters who have difficulties in safely navigating around Ibrox Stadium. The device must be worn on the upper arm of the guide and allows stewards to assist a visually-impaired person in a non-intrusive way.

 

Development & Construction

  • The symbolic foundation stone of Dynamo Dresden’s new training ground was laid in Sportpark Ostra. The training complex of the German second division club will comprise a functional and operational building, three large pitches, a smaller playing field and other training facilities. The project will cost €18.9 million – of which the city of Dresden pays €4 million and the Land of Sachsen €2.16 million – and will be ready by May 2020.
  • Construction started at BRITA-Arena’s Western stand. SV Wehen Wiesbaden is rebuilding its Western stand to meet the DFL’s required stadium capacity of 15,000 to play in the German 2. Bundesliga. The team is currently ranked fourth in 3. Liga and is still battling for promotion to the second division this season. Therefore, the club should expand the 12,500-seat BRITA-Arena.
  • Tottenham Hotspur FC announced that Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be inaugurated on 3 April with an FA Cup match against Crystal Palace. In order to acquire a formal safety certificate, the club needs to conduct two Test Event matches with increasing levels of attendances. The first event will be a U18 Premier League match against Southampton FC with a capacity of 30,000. A week later, a Tottenham Hotspur Legends match with 45,000 spectators will take place. 
  • Pogoń Szczecin played its last match in Stadion Florian Krygier in its current form. The match against Zagłębie Lubin on 10 March 2019 turned out to be historical for Pogoń Szczecin. The day after, demolition of the old grandstands started with the objective of establishing a modern venue for the club. The new Stadion Florian Krygier will accommodate 20,000 fans and is estimated to cost €85 million

Partner news

  • 3D Digital Venue implemented their solution at AS Roma, enabling fans to check interactive 3D 360-degree views from all seats of the stadium before purchasing their tickets. Download their story.