Sodexo has reported a record month for non-matchday business during June at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton.

The Sodexo team at Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club arranged a total of 64 different events in the month, including the hugely popular Eco Show, three end-of-term school proms and a sold-out Father's Day lunch in the Bupa Lounge.

Already in July, the team have hosted another school prom, for more than 200 student leavers, and a two-day diocese for the Catholic Church, which saw the single largest gathering of Catholics since the Pope's visit in 2010.

The team has also laid on a number of events and meetings for the NHS, education, government, recruitment providers and insurance companies; and the Amex has been the venue for a three-day roadshow for Southern Water.

While over the course of the month the stadium will also welcome 500 foreign language students, as it houses a summer English language school.

Albion’s events team has a huge month in September, with the stadium hosting two Rugby World Cup fixtures, as well as football.

The team are also reporting a steady flow of bookings for the club's Christmas parties, which have proved extremely popular since they launched at the Amex in 2011.

In 2013, Sodexo won a five-year contract to provide matchday retail, hospitality, restaurant catering, conference and events catering, and sales and marketing services at the Amex. Last year, Sodexo and Brighton and Hove Albion FC agreed an extension to this deal.

The Sodexo team at the Amex won three accolades at last month’s Stadium Experience and Hospitality Awards: gold in the Media Choice Award, silver in the Conference & Events Sales & Marketing Award, and bronze in the Directors Choice Award.

Tony Crosbie, general manager for Sodexo, said, "It's been an excellent month both in terms of the number of events and the satisfaction of our clients. We've had a lot of good feedback and the good reputation of the Amex as a conferencing and events venue in Brighton, Sussex and the South East is growing fast.

"The events and catering staff deserve a huge amount of credit for their hard work in bringing the business to the Amex, and also for delivering first-class service to our clients. We've also seen record revenues and that is fantastic for the club in this era of Financial Fair Play, where for Championship clubs - more than any others - every penny counts.

"It's going to be another busy month in July, before the season kicks off in August - and the calendar is already filling up for autumn and winter."

Paul Barber, Albion chief executive, said, "Since Sodexo came on board to deliver both our matchday catering and non-matchday conferencing and events, they've worked incredibly hard at both aspects. They've made vast improvements to the matchday catering offering at the Amex, and returned some impressive sales figures; contributed a significant increase to non-matchday business and worked extremely hard to develop strong relationships with the various departments at the club.

"Tony and his team should be congratulated on their achievements - along with our own operations team, who work very closely with Sodexo to deliver these events and to ensure clients are given the best possible service."

Colin Perkins, operations director for Sodexo Prestige, said, “Increasingly, we are working with our venue clients on our non-matchday offer, which reflects a growing trend in the industry to make best use of the conference facilities available at all times. Additionally, the advent of our ‘Prestige Venues and Events’ brand has improved the engagement and awareness of our client sites and making a significant increase in non-matchday business.”

 

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