Auckland’s Eden Park will have representation in two categories at this year’s TheStadiumBusiness Awards in Manchester.
Eden Park has been nominated in the ‘Product Innovation’ category for its ASB G9 Golf initiative, and in the ‘Sustainability & Community’ category for the ‘Our Neighbourhood’ campaign.
ASB G9 allowed golfers to test their putting and driving skills at Eden Park. Golf is the highest club participation sport in New Zealand and Eden Park sought to tap into its potential with the event, which was held over a three-month window.
Eden Park staff developed, implemented and hosted the event. A nine-hole golf course was set up on the stadium pitch, while a longest putt competition was also held in the home team changing room.
The initiative was supported by ASB Bank, a long-term partner of Eden Park.
New Zealand Golf chief executive Dean Murphy said: “We are always looking for new ways to grow the game of golf in New Zealand and this concept created by Eden Park showed golf in a fun and unique way.
“The ASB G9 event was also very accessible which will hopefully lead to many new players picking up a golf club, some for the first time, and where better to do so than on Eden Park?”
Eden Park will face competition in the Product Innovation category from:
· The Tunnel Club at Etihad Stadium (Manchester City FC), UK
· CherryBot AI Chatbot at AFC Bournemouth (Greenwood Campbell, Microsoft & Bournemouth University), UK
· Virtual Hybrid LED digiBOARD (ADI.tv, Supponor), UK
· The District Detroit Mobile App (Olympia Entertainment, XFINITY), USA
· Wi-Fi Deployment Innovations at Notre Dame Stadium (AmpThink), USA
Meanwhile, the ‘Our Neighbourhood’ exhibition celebrated all that is great about the 50,000-seat stadium. The exhibition commenced on May 28 last year and showcased approximately 100 photos around the stadium.
The exhibition focused on Eden Park staff, fans, celebrities and neighbours and was designed to increase awareness of the stadium’s stature and presence in the community, as well as celebrate its successes and achievements.
The other nominees in the Sustainability & Community category are:
· Rush2Recycle at Super Bowl LII, U.S. Bank Stadium/Minnesota Vikings, USA
· Reds Going Green at Anfield, Liverpool FC, UK
· Sustainability Programmes at CenturyLink Field/Seattle Seahawks, USA
· #ThisIsOurIce Campaign, NHL Minnesota Wild/Xcel Energy Center, USA
· Cleveland Cavaliers’ Quiet Space Sensory Room at Quicken Loans Arena, USA
The 2018 TheStadiumBusiness Awards will take place at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester on June 12. A full list of this year’s nominees can be found here.
Image: TimBray
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