Awards

About the Awards

TheStadiumBusiness Awards recognise leadership, innovation & achievement in the delivery, operation and management of sports facilities globally.

Inaugurated in 2010, the Awards are the first (and only) awards for the industry, by the industry and are presented each year during TheStadiumBusiness Summit.

The Awards were launched in order to:

Recognise achievement, innovation, fresh thinking and the leaders in the world of stadium, arena and sports venue management.
Raise industry standards and encourage greater professionalism.
Drive awareness of the stadium, arena and sports venue sector.

Nominations for TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2020 open on the 9th December!

TIMELINE
WINNERS
2019 JUDGES
PAST WINNERS

• 09 December 2019 – Nominations Open

• 3 January 2020 – Judging Panel Announced

• 24 January 2020 – Nominations Close

• 07 February 2020 – Shortlists Announced

• 10 February 2020 – Dossier to Judges

• 21 April 2020 – Winners Announced

THE 2019 WINNERS

The winners and shortlisted nominees in each category are as follows:

VENUE OF THE YEAR

Category winner: Marvel Stadium, Australia

Fiserv Forum, USA
Banc of California Stadium, USA
VTB Arena Park, Russia
Marvel Stadium, Australia
State Farm Arena, USA
Etihad Stadium, UK

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD

Category winner: Nick Sautner, CEO, Eden Park

Brad Estes, President, Louisville City FC
Kim Bedier, Director, Tacoma Venues & Events
Laurie Dalrymple, Managing Director, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Nick Sautner, CEO, Eden Park
Thad Sheely, COO, Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena

EVENT OF THE YEAR AWARD

Category Winner: The Pink Test – Jane McGrath Day 2019 at Sydney Cricket Ground

MultiSport Expo at Kazan Arena
CONMEBOL Libertadores Cup Final (River Plate v Boca Juniors) at the Bernabéu
2018 HSBC Sevens at Cape Town Stadium
Give Gift of Football/Come Home This Christmas – Boxing Day Game at Stadium of Light (Sunderland AFC)
Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Finals Watch Party at Capital One Arena
The Pink Test – Jane McGrath Day 2019 at Sydney Cricket Ground

UNSUNG HERO AWARD

Category Winner: Carmen Alvarez Beas, Head of Stadium Operations, Real Madrid

Carmen Alvarez Beas, Head of Stadium Operations, Real Madrid
Kelly Kauffman, Chief Human Capital Officer, Milwaukee Bucks
Chris Sheap, Vice President of Ticket Operations, Washington Wizards
Gordon Jackson, Event Safety Officer, Hibernian FC

FAN EXPERIENCE AWARD

Category Winner: Fan-First culture (Liverpool FC)

New East Stand hospitality spaces (Twickenham Stadium)
Fan-First culture (Liverpool FC)
STAGE staff induction and training programme (Fiserv Forum/Milwaukee Bucks)
Smart Wearable Shirt SOLOS (Real Sociedad, Spain and AFL Sydney Derby)
Benfica Tour 360 App (Sport Lisboa/Benfica)
Flyers Family Fun Zone (Wells Fargo Arena/MVP)

PRODUCT INNOVATION

Category Winner: NFC Ticketing via Apple Watch and iPhone at Allianz Arena (FC Bayern Munich/SkiData)

Double-sided LED halo ring display at Coop Norrbotten Arena (Bright Group/infiLED)
Viola App – Mobile ticket wallet transfer at FK Austria Vienna (keyper)
NFC Ticketing via Apple Watch and iPhone at Allianz Arena (FC Bayern Munich/SkiData)
CrowdKinetics’ analysis of Safe Standing (Premier League/BuroHappold)
Oilers Flash Mob / Flashpoint LED light show at Rogers Place (Game Changer / Edmonton Oilers)
Fantom smartband (Manchester City FC)

SUSTAINABILITY & COMMUNITY

Category Winner: The Green Team successes at TheO2 (AEG 1Earth)

Sporting Salutes at Children’s Mercy Park (Sporting Kansas City)
Tackling Dementia Sports Café at Sixways Stadium (Worcester Warriors)
The Green Team successes at TheO2 (AEG 1Earth)
Protect The Pitch (LA Galaxy/Dignity Health Sports Park)
Reconstruction of Paride Tilesi Stadium after the Amatrice earthquake
Sensory Bags+ at Bridgestone Arena (Nashville Predators/Kulture City)

SPONSORSHIP, SALES & MARKETING AWARD

Category Winner: Atlanta United’s record-breaking ticket run to MLS Cup (Atlanta United FC/AMB Sports & Entertainment)

Atlanta United’s record-breaking ticket run to MLS Cup (Atlanta United FC/AMB Sports & Entertainment)
A’s Access membership – new generation, flexible season ticket (Oakland Athletics/MLB)
SoccerLease vehicle lease activation (Birmingham City FC/SG Fleet)
Demand Release ticketing (tickets.ie/Newcastle Falcons/EPCR)
Coors Light Beer Button (NBA Milwaukee Bucks/MillerCoors/Levy)
AberDNA membership campaign (Aberdeen FC/Stadimax)

VENUE TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Category Winner: Integrated arena systems at Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee Bucks)

Shift-bidding and staff swapping at Emirates Old Trafford (Humanforce/Lancs Cricket)
Catering Digital Transformation across 8 French stadia (St Once/CasinoGroup/Digifood)
Digital Infrastructure at Gloucester Rugby’s Kingsholm Stadium (Landways)
Arena fan experience makeover at Capital One Arena (Monumental Sports & Entertainment)
Integrated arena systems at Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee Bucks)
App-free in-seat ordering at BC Place Stadium (Centerplate/Ready/Bypass)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Category Winner: Daniel Gidney, Chief Executive, Lancs Cricket

Download the WINNERS BROCHURE HERE with background and images on the winners.

2019 Judging Panel

Take a look at the 2019 Judging Panel here

PREVIOUS EDITIONS

2018 Winners

Our 2018 Awards winners were announced on 12 June at Emirates Old Trafford Manchester

Click here to see the 2018 Winners Brochure

View our Flickr gallery of TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2018 Gala Evening

2017 winners

2016 winners

2015 winners

What are people saying?

You guys did a great job. Really enjoyed the programming and hospitality.

Scott Jenkins General Manager, Mercedes-Benz Stadium

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Lee Zeidman President, STAPLES Center

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Jean Christophe Gileta President , Live Stadium

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Business Development Director Sports and Entertainment, Oracle Hospitality

Another great eventy. Always nice to catch up with the industry – and get all those ideas flowing

Jacob Lauesen Director Brand Marketing & Development, F.C. København

Your conference is the industry benchmark. Any individual working in the industry has the opportunity to take away learnings for their own venue.