As ALSD international counts down to its evolution into a 365 community to enable year-round engagement and prepares to announce details for the 2022 event, hear about the key learnings, developments and more from the 2021 edition of the industry’s leading conference and exhibition for the premium Seat & sports Hospitality sector, hosted by Liverpool Football Club.

Following an unprecedented 18 months, the 2020/21 hybrid edition of ALSD international was finally able to proceed at Liverpool FC’s iconic Anfield Stadium back in September, with some 200+ industry executives registered from across the UK, Europe and wider afield; the majority of whom attended in person. 

As the only conference and exhibition dedicated to the premium Seat & sports Hospitality sector outside of North America, those in attendance benefited from insights and key learnings from leading industry experts on increasing revenue through new Builds, renovations and service Expansions, especially through niches including architecture & Design, Catering & Concessions, fan Experience, Hospitality, premium Seating, Sponsorship, technology and Rebuilding & Recovery. 

The event also provided a much-needed opportunity to network and Camiseta Selección de fútbol de Alemania engage with peers on the challenges, what’s worked, and what hasn’t, and how the industry can move forward in these challenging times. 

Proceedings commenced with a behind-the-scenes tour of M&S bank Arena Liverpool within the ACCL Campus, and a breakfast networking event, sponsored by Sodexo, before delegates were transported to Anfield’s main Stand, ready for the conference and exhibition to commence.

High-level conference
During the course of the conference, some 40+ top-calibre industry executives took on subjects including:

The Future of premium Seating

Rebuilding & Recovery

The Future of Hospitality

How to Optimise ROI

Delivering an enhanced fan Experience

The big Event: how to Maximise Your Value

Join Our Club: become a Club Member, Not just a Hospitality Buyer

Stadiums of the Future

Maximising Sponsorship Activation

The transformation of Anfield

In addition, Euroleague Basketball ran a panel session, focused on the challenges of the last 1.5 years and how the league and its clubs, including FC Bayern and Zalgiris Kaunas, have worked to keep Camiseta Schalke 04 fans, sponsors and stakeholders engaged, while Rob Hunden, President, Hunden strategic Partners, outlined what facilities are going up around the world, trends in different sports and facility types, and added new research that piqued attendees attention.

Click on each topic subject to watch the panel Camiseta Sanfrecce Hiroshima session in full or go to:

Keynote speakers
Highlights from ALSD international 2021 included keynotes from Nick Sautner, chief executive Officer, Eden Park Stadium, who discussed “Transformational change to deliver greater Utilisation” and Andy Hughes, Managing director of Liverpool FC, who kicked off day two with an overview of the club and recent developments.

Andy highlighted the club’s journey on and off the pitch, from their recent Premier league title to significant infrastructure improvements, including the state-of-the-art AXA training Centre and opening the new main Stand, taking Anfield to the next level.

Andy summarised that:

Football is the priority but getting our football facilities right was also a critical priority… It was highly complex delivering world-class sporting facilities in a unique and special building.

The client and design team, including Liverpool FC Vice President, stadium Operations, Paul Cuttill, KSS associate Director, Debbie Power and 20.20 Ltd creative director Jon Lee, presented the detail behind the “Transformation of Anfield”. focusing on the commercial redevelopment of the main Stand that began in 2012 to the future of the Anfield road Stand, which secured planning this year and has recently started on site, with completion due for 2023.

Expert speakers
The event featured more than 40 top-calibre industry expert speakers, including:

Alan Gilpin, CEO, world Rugby

Jon Dutton, CEO, Rugby league world cup 2021

Guy Dunstan, Managing Director, Ticketing & Arenas, NEC Group

Rob March, director of Commercial, Chester Race Group

Rob Paddon, director venue Sales, Fulham FC

Fabian Fischer, chief business Officer, FC Bayern

Becci Thomson, Head of premium Sales, Co-op Live

Chris Maddison, commercial Director, Delaware North

Megan Ashfield, Principal, Populous

Franco Segarra, innovation Director, Valencia CF

Nils Braude, Managing Director, Twickenham Experience/The RFU

Andy Muggleton, commercial Director, Marylebone Cricket Club/Lord’s

Nick Marshall, Director, KSS

Tom Lynch, group commercial director & senior VP, Europe, ASM Global

Oliver Wright, Head of Hospitality & Sales, Everton FC

Danny Macklin, CEO, Leyton Orient

Sponsors & exhibitors
Sponsors and exhibitors included Bleep UK PLC, Bosch Rexroth/StadiaPitnullnull