Representatives from the Premier League, NFL, Bundesliga and international cricket were among the contributors on a busy first day of the 2020 Stadium Business Summit.
Patrick Meyer, the chief executive of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park, took part in a session with TheStadiumBusiness.com founder Ian Nuttall entitled ‘Year of Change: From Commerzbank-Arena to Deutsche Bank Park’ in which he reflected upon a period when Bundesliga teams have been forced to play behind closed doors for all but a few games.
Speaking at the event — being held remotely for the first time — Meyer suggested it could be some time before fans return once more, identifying the effectiveness of potential vaccines as the key to how stadiums will fare in 2021.
“I don’t think we will have fans back until March and April,” he said. “It’s no question we won’t have fans this month or in January and February because of the temperatures and how that could impact the spread of the virus.
“Then it’s the big questions as to whether the vaccine is fast enough to have real summer events or whether we move to Plan B with smaller numbers.”
Attendees can watch all of Tuesday’s sessions here.
Also on Tuesday, Andy O’Sullivan, venue director at Tottenham Hotspur, reflected on the challenges the Premier League club has faced in opening its incredible stadium. From construction delays to empty stands since March, O’Sullivan described how Tottenham has sought to respond.
Daniel Gidney, chief executive of Lancashire County Cricket Club’s Emirates Old Trafford, said within weeks of the pandemic spreading to the UK he was dealing with estimated losses of around £5m (€5.56m/$6.71m) of revenue.
Attendees also heard from tech solutions providers including Bleep, Exterity, GroundWOW and Humanforce, each sponsors of the 2020 Stadium Business Summit. Sponsors AVIXA, Buro-Happold, L-Acoustics and PTI Digital also shared news of recent projects.
Today’s sessions begin with bright news from the southern hemisphere with Eden Park’s Nick Sautner and Adelaide Oval’s Adam Vonthethoff discussing the reopening of venues in Australia and New Zealand and potential new revenue streams.
Attendees can watch Tuesday’s sessions and tune into today’s here.
