Meet the expert: Carlos Carvalho, in charge of the Operations Department at Estádio do Dragão

ESSMA interviewed Carlos Carvalho, he’s in charge of the Operations Department at Estádio do Dragão. Furthermore, he’s the Security Manager at FC Porto.

 “On matchdays, around 1,400 people are working at Estádio do Dragão. Including the SAA's (Sports Arena Assistants), the police, all service providers for catering and hospitality, as well as FC Porto’s employees and staff.”

How many concession stands are there in the stadium?

There are 24 concession stands at Estádio do Dragão, allocated in the North, South, West and East sections. There are three concession stands on the North side and three concession stands on the South side. Furthermore, there are nine concession stands on the East side and nine concession stands on the West side, allocated on Level -2 and -1.

Can you give an overview of the hospitality boxes at the stadium and their main characteristics?

Estádio do Dragão is divided into and east side and west side. The Five and Six Star boxes are located on the west side, these boxes are provided with the services inside the own boxes.  Regarding the Three and Four Star boxes, these are located on the east side of the stadium. The Four Star boxes also have the services provided inside the own boxes. For its turn, the catering for the Three Star boxes is provided at the foyer of the boxes. That’s the difference between the boxes regarding their typology. In total, there are 20 boxes in the west side, and 64 boxes in the east side.

Which trends do you see in terms of hospitality and operations?

Nowadays, there are several trends that we've been detecting, such as a closer interaction with the players, trying to make possible to our club members, on a simple and safe way, to be closer to the players. Maybe it could be an option. And we're, in fact, evaluating the best solution, keeping also in mind that we always need to consider the stadium's conditions, its facilities and infrastructure.

In addition, FC Porto is pioneer inSeat Delivery. A tool that enable products to be delivered to fans through an app; the app identifies where the fan is seated, allowing the product to be delivered to that exact location. This is an important step which can also help to reduce the length of waiting queues, and, consequently, helps to improve the service.