Winners of TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2023 Announced

Hard Rock Stadium in Miami secured the Venue of the Year accolade while FC Copenhagen’s Jacob Lauesen received an Outstanding Achievement Award during TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2023 at Emirates Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

Hard Rock Stadium hosts numerous sports events, including Miami Dolphins NFL home games and the Formula One Miami Grand Prix.

“It’s my honour to accept this award on behalf of the organisation,” said Maxwell Stiss, Director – Enterprise Applications at Miami Dolphins/Hard Rock Stadium. “Ultimately what fuels us is the power to bring people together through the power of sport.”

Jacob Lauesen, who has driven transformational change at FC Copenhagen and the Danish football club’s Parken stadium during his time as managing director, was given the Outstanding Achievement Award.

Other winners on the night included Concert for Ukraine (Resorts World Arena) – Event of the Year; Kerri Davies, head of memberships, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC – Unsung Hero Award; S.M.I.L.E. culture (Atlanta Hawks) – Fan Experience Award; FC Maribor Sport Chatbot (Mastercard/2Mobile) – Product Innovation Award; Children’s Haven & Ukraine refugee support (Tauron Arena Kraków) – Sustainability & Community Award; No Boundaries (Hilton/Lancs Cricket) – Sponsorship, Sales & Marketing Award; 5G Touch and Track at Marvel Stadium (AFL/Telstra/Field of Vision) – Venue Technology Award; and Ron Bension, president and CEO, ASM Global – Executive of the Year Award.

Now in their 14th year, TheStadiumBusiness Awards are the only awards to recognise a whole spectrum of achievements from across the global stadium industry.

The awards ceremony took place in front of an audience of senior industry figures during TheStadiumBusiness Summit 2023.

“Congratulations to all of the finalists who reached the podium,” commented Ian Nuttall, founder of TheStadiumBusiness Awards. “Winners included our leaders, achievers and stand-out venues from our industry – and they should all be very proud of their achievements.”

Through the #Donations4Nominations campaigns to drive entries (and the Awards evening itself) a total of £3,130 was collected for TheStadiumBusiness‘ charity partner EMERGENCY NGO – sufficient to fully fund a First Aid Post for a month in one of the war zones and disaster areas where the charity operates.

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

EVENT OF THE YEAR AWARD

Category Winner: Concert for Ukraine (Resorts World Arena)

Shortlisted nominees:

• Rugby League World Cup 2021
• UEFA Women’s EURO 2022
• Barca in Sydney (VenuesLive)
• Women’s Rugby World Cup (Eden Park)
• NFL’s Touchdown in Germany (Allianz Arena)

UNSUNG HERO AWARD

Category Winner: Kerri Davies, Head of Memberships, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC

Shortlisted nominees:

• Melisa Hooper, VP of Booking, Allegiant Stadium
• Chris Reed, Catering Services Director, Newcastle United FC
• Angela Roberts, Group Health & Safety Manager, NEC Group
• Kate Simkiss, Corporate Legal Manager, Eden Park Trust
• Tony Vroman, Senior Director – Stadium Events, SoFi Stadium & Hollywood Park

FAN EXPERIENCE AWARD

• Category Winner: S.M.I.L.E. culture (Atlanta Hawks)

Shortlisted nominees:

• Edmiston House event space (Rangers FC)
• Fan satisfaction at Silverstone
• F&B overhaul at FC Copenhagen
• Blue Jays’ outfield district revamp (Rogers Center)
• More Than a Match at St. James’ Park (Sodexo Live!/Newcastle United FC)

PRODUCT INNOVATION AWARD

Category Winner: FC Maribor Sport Chatbot (Mastercard/2Mobile)

Shortlisted nominees:

• Hard Rock Stadium Express Shop (Miami Dolphins/Verizon/AiFi)
• Augmented Reality at SoFi Stadium (ARound)
• Venue metrics tool (NHL/SAP)
• North Bar frictionless experience (Leicester City FC/Levy UK)
• WimbleWorld on Roblox (AELTC, The Gang, Roblox)

SUSTAINABILITY & COMMUNITY AWARD

Category Winner: Children’s Haven & Ukraine refugee support (Tauron Arena Kraków)

Shortlisted nominees:

• TRUE Platinum zero waste certification (Mercedes-Benz Stadium/AMBSE)
• Go Green Report (Honeycomb Strategies/Philadelphia Eagles)
• Unbox Litter app (Indy Eleven/Unbox Sports Tech)
• ‘You Can Do Anything’ Free Fit Area (RB Leipzig)
• Disability Matters Fixture (Leicester City FC)

SPONSORSHIP, SALES & MARKETING AWARD

Category Winner: No Boundaries (Hilton/Lancs Cricket)

Shortlisted nominees:

• Women’s Sport & Digital Transformation (WRU/Vodafone/Principality Stadium)
• LAFC record-breaking MLS deal (BMO Stadium)
• Resilience & Commercial Recovery (Coventry Building Society Arena)
• Recognising indigenous peoples at Romssa Arena (Tromsø IL/Troms Kraft)

VENUE TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Category Winner: 5G Touch and Track at Marvel Stadium (AFL/Telstra/Field of Vision)

Shortlisted nominees:

• 5G private network (Boingo/Petco Park)
• Baseball’s biggest scoreboard (NY Mets/Citi Field)
• Villa Park’s Holte End self-service (Aston Villa FC/Levy UK)
• On-the-go mobile charging (ChargeFuze/ASM Global)
• SWAPP workplace optimisation (Principality Stadium/Vindico)

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD

Category Winner: Ron Bension, President & CEO, ASM Global

Shortlisted nominees:

• Mark Ashton, Director/CEO, Ipswich Town FC
• Jon Dutton, former Chief Executive, RLWC2021
• Raven Jemison, EVP – Business Operations, Milwaukee Bucks
• Jacob Lauesen, Managing Director, FC Copenhagen
• Kerrie Mather, CEO, Venues NSW & SCG

VENUE OF THE YEAR AWARD

Category Winner: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami)

Shortlisted nominees:

• Allianz Stadium (Sydney)
• Centre Court, Wimbledon (London)
• Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle)
• Etihad Arena (Abu Dhabi)
• Lusail Stadium (Qatar)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

• Jacob Lauesen, Managing Director, FC Copenhagen

The award celebrations were sponsored by NFT-TiX.