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Xperiology

A First For… Live Football

Here at Xperiology, we love to get out and about of the office to see how venues within the live entertainment and sports industry operate.

With this in mind, Events Coordinator Oana Buhus and Marketing Executive Matthew Wall attended the Brighton & Hove Albion FC match against Leeds United – at the nearby American Express Stadium (Amex).

Amex Floodlight image

Brighton & Hove Albion moved into the Amex at the beginning of the 2011/12 season.

In May 2013 it was announced that the stadium would host games during the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

With one eye on the spectacle, and another on the matchday operations of a top UK sports venue, an excitable Oana struggled to control her emotions – her “first ever live football match”,can you imagine?

“It was great to finally see a live football match. It’s such a lovely stadium and just around the corner from us – I didn’t realise it was so close,” she commented.

“I loved the atmosphere, the fans were great! The Brighton fans definitely seem like a loyal bunch”.

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“There are definitely lessons to be learnt from everyone at the Amex, from the barmaids to the lottery ticket sellers – they were all so happy and proud to be working at the stadium,” she continued.

“I have been to the Amex several times, and it never disappoints. The atmosphere was one of the best I have seen and all the members of staff are so warm and welcoming,” commented Matthew.

“My only criticism was the length of time it took to exit the car park, we were waiting there for almost an hour and a half,” he explained. “Perhaps we’ll take the train next time!”

It remains to be seen whether it was Oana’s beginners luck, or just a very good performance from Brighton, but the “Seagulls” came away with a valiant 1-0 win.

The win propelled them to 7th place in the SkyBet Championship table, just one point outside of the play-off positions.

THE STADIUM…

The spectacular £93 million, 30,750 capacity venue at Falmer has received numerous plaudits since its opening, both for its striking design, as well as its outstanding operational and commercial performance.SBA12 award

And most notably, the venue was recognised by the stadium industry – as TheStadiumBusiness Award’s New Venue of the Year 2012.

The Xperiology team would like to thank Brighton & Hove Albion and The American Express Community Stadium for such an enjoyable experience – one that has left us eager to return in the near future!

MORE ON XPERIOLOGY

Keep an eye on our website for all of the latest news and announcements from Xperiology. More on the Xperiologists here.

[NB. We host the the largest dedicated meeting in the world of owners, operators and developers of the world’s leading stadiums, arenas and major sport venue business. See you at TheStadiumBusiness Summit – Wembley (3-5 June 2014)]

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