Brighton’s Amex Stadium scored a hat trick of successes at a prestigious industry awards night.
The Stadium Experience awards recognise the efforts and dedication shown by the catering, conference and events teams at every football and rugby stadium across the UK and Ireland.
And not only was the Brighton & Hove Albion stadium chosen to host the 2018 ceremony, but its catering and events partner, Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events, scooped two gongs during the course of the evening.
The Sodexo PV&E team saw off competition from football clubs, such as Southampton and Chelsea, to be named Best Stadium Events Venue, for “consistently displaying exceptional venue facilities and outstanding guest experiences.”
They also won the Best Digital Enquiry Award following a mystery shopper-style email enquiry.
The event was the 14th annual awards organised by Stadium Experience, and 70 football and rugby clubs were nominated for awards, with 25 different stadium venues scooping at least one of 39 gongs across 13 categories.
Some awards were entered by the club themselves and others by nominations from colleagues, media and visiting club directors.
As hosts for the event, the Amex Stadium welcomed 350 guests, from conference and events, match day hospitality, chef teams, public catering, operational departments and senior management, for a four-course menu, ceremony and live entertainment, followed by an onsite after party until 4am.
Kathy Taylor, sales manager for Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events at the Amex Stadium, said the awards were “recognition for the hard work and excellent level of service our team provides to clients and customers in the stadia market.
“We are particularly delighted to have won the Best Stadium Events venue category as our entry highlighted examples of a number of challenging events and the testimonials of our very satisfied customers – so it’s a very special win for us.
“We were also delighted to host the ceremony,” she added. “The Amex Stadium is a superb location for glamorous, large-scale events and the ceremony showed it at its very best.”
The Brighton awards were among seven won in total by Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events teams, with Everton FC winning Best Match Day Hospitality – Medium Stadium, silver in the Chef Team of the Year category and bronze for Overall Match Day Hospitality.
The Sodexo teams at Newcastle United FC and Hampden Park also won silver and bronze respectively in the Best Match Day Hospitality – Large Stadium category.