hospitality 31


“The hospitality is the best it’s ever been here now.


It’s more organised, the food and


service quality is far better. The atmosphere in this stadium with 32,000 people is fantastic, and I’d favour football hospitality over other sports in this area.“


His company has also used the box for non- matchday business meetings – “It gets you out of the office and it’s a nice venue to come to“ – and attended charity events at St Mary’s.


(St Mary’s Stadium is available for all sorts of non-matchday events from parties to product promotions, I was advised later by Saints’ hospitality team.)


Roberts has sampled all the Saints corporate hospitality options over the years. His construction industry guests often prefer the more relaxed atmosphere of the Saints Bar in the Mike Channon Suite. “It’s an easygoing way of watching the football, but it’s also good for business. You meet loads of contacts and can pick up work.“


from winning the FA Vase at Wembley, as happened when I was there.


Martyn Holman, group commercial director of insurance adviser Markerstudy, also praised facilities and service standards at St Mary’s and has confidently used various hospitality packages for different business guests and staff incentives. “Nothing replaces the atmosphere of live sport, and we are very switched on to such hospitality. Interestingly, it used to be a male dominated thing, but nowadays there are many more women attending, so you can invite business contacts and their partners.“


Mark Lane, owner of Romsey manufacturer Great Star Europe, had an executive box last season “…which was very good for internal company meetings, our staff incentives, and customers.


So I went downstairs to check out the Saints Bar, passing the President’s Suite, (where I’d seen club captain Kelvin Davis making a post- lunch guest appearance) and the plush Markus Liebherr Lounge – dining rooms catering for around 150 guests each.


John Fitzpatrick, MD of Sirus Telecom based in Chandlers Ford, has been using Saints Bar corporate hospitality at St Mary’s as an incentive reward for senior management and staff for three years. “For clients we may upgrade to other hospitality packages available here. They are all excellent value, a good return on investment.“ (Saints hospitality options range from £65pp upwards to £5,200pp per season).


The Premier League image “…the grandeur, the stadium, everything to do with the club fits with what we want as a business,“ said Fitzpatrick, who rates St Mary’s standards comparable with leading London clubs.


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – JUNE 2014


Businesses that don’t use such corporate hospitality are missing out, he believes.


“Whether you come for hospitality for one day or have a seasonal ticket you will always have an opportunity for B2B networking, which is so important nowadays.“ Sport can provide a common link, and promote fresh positive relationships within business, he added.


“It’s also a fantastic way of rewarding your employees or treating your clients to a special day out, enhancing that bond with them, and making them want to work with you. It does make a difference.“


And, it may well be a full day out. Hospitality guests can arrive 2.5 hours before kick-off, and enjoy relaxed dining and pre-match activities ranging from personality or player appearances to the placing of match bets, or watching pitch events, such as the local Sholing FC team appearing fresh


“Business life is very frantic – the more important the client the less time they have to spend with us, the suppliers – but I think such hospitality is a very good opportunity to sit and chat about their business and our business.“


So, it appears from my brief Southampton FC survey that, at St Mary’s at least, modern corporate hospitality is a very useful, high quality, yet cost-effective business tool.


As a nod to my former sports editor days, I popped into the ’Saints’ press lounge. Things had improved there too, with high-tech comms throughout for media devices, but it was good to see that some traditions are still retained – hot half-time meat pies provided for grateful journos.


Details:


0845-688-9377 www.saintsfc.co.uk


www.businessmag.co.uk


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