Football Hospitality Awards 2012 – The Results
On Thursday 24th May 2012, The American Express Community Stadium, home to Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club hosted The Stadium Experience – Official Football Hospitality Awards 2012. The awards is an annual award programme, founded in 2005 and organised by Stadium Experience.
Now in their 8th year, the awards recognise the efforts and dedication shown by the catering, conference and events team at every football club across the UK. All areas of this vital part of the business operation of football clubs were represented at the ceremony: from chefs, waiting staff and kitchen porters to catering directors and catering teams from the Premier League to League Division 2.
The overall winner of the evening was Aston Villa Football Club, who scooped the prestigious award of Overall Matchday Hospitality Experience Award Winners of 2012, fighting off some very tough competition from across the Leagues.
The 2012 official award winners were as follows:
Media Choice Award
(Voted for by the national press and reporters attending matches across the UK)
WINNER Manchester City Football Club
SILVER Aston Villa Football Club
BRONZE Newcastle United Football Club
Directors Choice in League 2
(Voted for by the board of directors at league 2 clubs when they visit an away match)
Bradford City Football Club
Directors Choice in League 1
(Voted for by the board of directors at League 1 clubs when they visit an away match)
MK Dons Football Club
Directors Choice in the Championship
(Voted for by the board of directors at Championship clubs when they visit an away match)
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club
Directors Choice in the Scottish Premier League
(Voted for by the board of directors at SPL clubs when they visit an away match)
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club
Directors Choice in the Premier League
(Voted for by the board of directors at Premiership clubs when they visit an away match)
Everton Football Club
Chef Team of the Year sponsored by Salon Culinaire
(Live theatre competition in January 2012 in front of Salon Culinaire chef judges)
WINNER Aston Villa Football Club
SILVER Everton Football Club
BRONZE Morecambe Football Club & Newcastle United Football Club
Conference & Events Sales & Marketing Award sponsored by BDRC Continental
(Judged by a mystery shopper style telephone call enquiry and follow up process)
WINNER Swansea City Football Club
SILVER Manchester City Football Club
BRONZE Aston Villa Football Club
Special Achievement Award
(Judged by panel including KJL (HR) Consultancy Services)
WINNER Kath Cassidy, Newcastle United Football Club
SILVER Ruth Melton, Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club
BRONZE David Tougher, Hampden Park Stadium
Star For The Future Award
(Judged by panel including KJL (HR) Consultancy Services)
WINNER Joshua Isaac, Swansea City Football Club
SILVER Scott Matheson, Hampden Park Football Club
BRONZE Matthew Joy, Stoke City Football Club
The Green Award
(Voted for by the Stadium Experience Awards committee)
WINNER Aston Villa Football Club
SILVER Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club
BRONZE Wembley Stadium
Fans Choice Award – The Football Pie League
(voted for by fans using the H&C News facebook fan page)
WINNER Arsenal Football Club
SILVER Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club
BRONZE Chelsea Football Club
Matchday Hospitality Experience Awards
(Reported by professional chef judges who experienced hospitality at 26 UK clubs over a period of 6 months and had a strict point scoring criteria from parking access, signage and welcome to the food quality and standards of service.)
Matchday Hospitality Award in League 2 – Morecambe Football Club
Matchday Hospitality Award in League 1 – AFC Bournemouth
Matchday Hospitality Award in the Championship – Birmingham City Football Club
Matchday Hospitality Award in Scottish Premier & National Stadia – Hampden Park Stadium
Matchday Hospitality Award in the Premier League & National Stadia – Aston Villa Football Club
OVERALL Matchday Hospitality Experience Award
WINNER Aston Villa Football Club
SILVER Newcastle United Football Club
BRONZE Hampden Park Stadium
Delighted with the evening’s success, Stadium Experience Chair Person Lisette Maas, from Notts County Football Club, commented: “The recognition given to those nominated and those who won awards is vital to the morale and continued dedication of the catering and events departments at our football clubs. They work tirelessly behind the scenes on matchdays and non-matchdays, to ensure that in some instances up to 90,000 visitors are catered for.”
Also recognised on the night were the founding members of Stadium Experience, which is celebrating 10 years this year. The organization was set up in 2002 to promote and market the UK’s Football Stadia as venues to the conference and event market.
Plans are already underway for next year’s awards for Thursday 23rd May 2013 at one of the other great Stadium Experience venues.
See the latest updates on The Stadium Events & Hospitality Awards.
