FINALISTS UNVEILED: The nominees for TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2013

The finalists for TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2013 have today been announced.

Now in their fourth year, TheStadiumBusiness Awards are the only awards to recognise the entire spectrum of achievements from across the global stadium industry. Not only will the venues and events of the year be acknowledged but also individuals from behind the scenes and successful local community projects.

“Thanks to everyone who submitted Nominations this year. We had an incredible response – from all over the world. Every year we’re impressed by the incredible level of innovation and professionalism we witness during the nomination process and this year was better than ever,” said Ian Nuttall, founder of the TheStadiumBusiness. “Nominees should be very proud of their achievements and we congratulate them all in reaching the finals shortlist.”

Hundreds of nominations were filtered, verified and researched to create the shortlist, which will be judged by an independent panel of industry leaders.

SELECTING THE WINNERS

The winners will be announced at the Gala Awards Evening, held during TheStadiumBusiness Summit 2013 at The Point, Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester (home of Lancashire County Cricket Ground) on 6th June.

“The administration has been completed – and now the real hard work begins: Choosing the winners in each category from each of these deserving shortlisted finalists,” explains Nuttall. “Our Judging Panel has been issued with the Awards Nominations dossier – and supporting documents – and will convene in London on 24 May for the final round of voting. Good luck to everyone – and congratulations on reaching the final stage.”

THE FINALISTS

The shortlisted finalists for TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2013 are as follows:

Customer Experience Award

• F.C. Copenhagen’s response to extreme weather, Denmark
• Everton Football Club’s friendly stewarding, UK
• Twickenham Stadium’s mid-tier LED ribbon board engagement, UK
• Olympique de Marseille’s ‘Business As Usual’ approach during stadium reconstruction, France
• Making Away Fans Welcome at Cardiff City, UK
• Orlando Magic’s ‘never finished’ customer service approach, USA

Executive of the Year Award

• Jacques Grobbelaar, CEO of Stadium Management, South Africa
• Julian Jenkins, Commercial Director, Cardiff City FC, UK
• Peter C. Sullivan, General Manager, University of Phoenix Stadium, USA
• Brett Yormark, CEO, Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, USA
• Marcin Herra, Chairman, PL.2012, Poland / CEO, National Stadium, Poland
• Thomas Perslund, CEO, Friends Arena, Sweden
• Gavin Baldwin, Chief Executive, Doncaster Rovers FC, UK

Guest Event of the Year Award

• ‘One Year to Go’ until the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, ‘Bolshoi’ Ice Dome, Russia
• Buelent Ceylan Comedy Show at Commerzbank-Arena Frankfurt, Germany
• Celebrating Sir Alex Ferguson’s 25 years at Manchester United (Old Trafford), UK
• Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium, London, UK
• Hurricane Sandy Benefit Concert at Madison Square Garden, USA
• Opening Ceremony of Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
• Coldplay at Etihad Stadium (June 2012), UK

Industry Supplier Award

• EVENT360 llp
• Green 4 Solutions
• Bleep UK PLC
• Aesthetics Events Staff
• 20.20
• Agilysys

New Venue Award

• London Olympic Stadium, UK
• Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
• Stade Oceane/Le Havre FC, France
• Marlins Park, Miami, USA
• Barclays Center, New York, USA
• Grand Stade Lille Métropole, France

Product Innovation Award

• Barclays Center Mobile App, USA
• Extricom’s Wi-Fi Solution for large public venues (NBA 2013 All-Star Weekend at Toyota Center, Houston), USA
• Live Venue by ADI.tv, installed at Goodison Park, UK
• Real Time Revenue Management System by Triple Jump Technologies, installed at Lord’s (Marylebone Cricket Club) and Twickenham Stadium (RFU), UK
• NCR Vitalcast™ digital signage solution (installed at PNC Arena) drives advertising and concession sales, USA
• Audience Engagement LED Panels in London Olympic Stadium, UK

Project of the Year Award

• Revamp of Chelsea FC’s catering spaces for away fans (Levy Restaurants), UK
• AMI Stadium (temporary stadium), Christchurch, New Zealand (RCP/Populous)
• BC Place’s secondary roof to reduce capacity/enhance atmosphere (Panther Constructors), USA
• New hospitality suites at Manchester City FC (20.20), UK
• Redevelopment of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC’s Stan Cullis Stand (AFL Architects), UK
• Melbourne Cricket Ground’s ‘customer-centric’ Great Southern Stand redevelopment (Cox Architecture/Jackson Architecture), Australia

Rising Star Award

• Justine Hewitt, Major Events Manager, Ricoh Arena, Coventry, UK
• Tom Gorringe, Sales & Marketing, Cardiff City FC, UK
• Oleksandr Rogachevskyi, Stadium Operations Manager, Metalist Stadium, Ukraine
• Phil Egan, Retail Catering Assistant Manager, Liverpool FC, UK
• Nathalie Ollson, Manager, Event Programming & Event Services at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Canada
• Deirdre O’Sullivan – Operations Coordinator, Aviva Stadium, Ireland

Safety & Security Award

• Nigel Cox, Head of Stadium Operations, RFU/Twickenham Stadium, UK
• Donbass Arena’s exemplary management of the storm-ridden Ukraine-France EURO 2012 match
• Olympique de Marseille FC’s ‘incident-free’ match operations during full-scale stadium reconstruction, France
• BC Place’s 2012 Safety & Security Programme, Canada

Small Venue of the Year Award

• Adler-Arena Skating Center, Sochi, Russia
• New York Stadium, Rotherham, UK
• Netanya Municipal Stadium, Netanya, Israel
• Allianz Park, London, UK
• NV Arena (SKN St Pölten FC), Austria
• Gallagher Stadium (Maidstone United FC), UK

Sponsorship, Sales & Marketing Award

• Stade de France’s live tweet campaign, France
• Brentford FC’s ‘Pay What You Can’ campaign, UK
• RFID-embedded apparel to capture fan loyalty & drive ticket sales (Tampa Bay Lightning), USA
• Football kit in space, St. Paulista FC, Brazil
• Cardiff City FC’s stadium-wide, demand-based pricing, UK

Sports Event of the Year Award

• Lucas Oil Stadium (USA) hosts Super Bowl XLVI
• Veltins Arena (Germany) hosts Biathlon WTC
• Sydney Cricket Ground (Australia) hosts its 100th Test Match
• Amway Center/Orlando Magic (USA) hosts NBA All-Star 2012
• Aviva Stadium (Ireland) hosts Emerald Isle Classic: Navy v Notre Dame
• ‘Super Saturday’ at the London 2012 Olympics (Day 8), UK
• Opening game of EURO 2012, National Stadium, Poland

Sustainability Award

• Everton FC/Goodison Park: small fixes which make a big difference, UK
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Sports Project, USA
• VfL Wolfsburg, Germany: ‘Moving together’ initiative, Germany
• Millennium Stadium’s ISO 20121 and re-use of water, UK
• Manchester United FC/Old Trafford’s leadership in sustainability, UK
• Aviva Stadium, Dublin: continuous improvement, Ireland
• Marlins Park, Miami – The first retractable roof sports facility in the world to achieve LEED Gold rating, USA

Unsung Hero Award

• Gerry Toms, General Manager Millennium Stadium (Welsh Rugby Union), UK
• Sean Rookes, Asst. Presentation Services Manager, Allphones Arena, Sydney, Australia
• Dave Mitchell, Stadium Manager, Carlisle United, UK
• Sue McCarthy, Food & Beverage Director, Manchester Arena / SMG Europe, UK
• Green Keeping Team at Stadium Letzigrund (Zurich), Switzerland
• Boris Ferenčak, Head of Stadium Stožice, Slovenia
• Kevin Owens, Principal, OwensOwens / Former Head of Design LOCOG, UK

Venue of the Year Award

• Mercedes Benz Superdome, New Orleans, USA
• Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine
• Olympic Stadium, London, UK
• Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
• National Sports Complex “Olimpiyskiy”, Kiev, Ukraine
  
• Twickenham Stadium, London, UK
• Wembley Stadium, London, UK
• Barclays Center, New York, USA

**CONGRATULATIONS to all our finalists! Well done on reaching the final selection. See you in Manchester on 6th June for the Awards Night. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

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