#SBS21 Preview: Getting Closer – Innovation in Hospitality

“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Saints and our Tunnel Club is the first hospitality experience of its kind in rugby,” says #SBS21 guest speaker Ed Turnham, Northampton Saints’ Head of Sales ahead of this year’s Summit.

In 2019, Franklin’s Gardens, home to Premiership rugby club Northampton Saints, broke new ground in professional rugby with the launch of The Tunnel Club.

Saints became the first rugby club in the world to offer a brand-new, unique hospitality experience allowing supporters the chance to enter the inner sanctum of the stadium while also experiencing first-class hospitality.

Providing room for up to 14 guests, the Tunnel Club is located beside the players’ changing room offering unparalleled views of the tunnel – so supporters can get closer than ever before to the action pre and post-match.

As part of the match day experience, Saints’ director of rugby, Chris Boyd, delivers a pre-match talk and guests are able to watch the game unfold from seats directly behind the players’ dugout. At the final whistle, guests can enjoy the chance to meet a matchday player straight off the pitch and a full view of the pre and post-match media interviews.

He adds: “We now have a range of options to suit any budget – from our Heroes Restaurant for just £39 per game all the way up to our more premium offerings like the Champions Suite or Directors Experience.”

“The Tunnel Club has changed the way supporters can experience rugby and hospitality forever; allowing them to go behind-the-scenes at Franklin’s Gardens, while also experiencing exceptional hospitality in the Church’s stand.”

Ed will be sharing insights into the evolution of hospitality at Franklin’s Garden – including Warner’s Experience, the club’s new, distillery-themed space – an idea literally born “on the back of a cigarette packet!”

Learn from Saints – and network with 400+ stadium industry leaders – only at #SBS21.

[SIGN ME UP]

Image credits: Northampton Saints