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Bristol Sport retains PTI to aid Ashton Gate development vision

Digital transformation consultancy PTI has agreed a four-year extension to its contract with Bristol Sport and Ashton Gate Stadium.

Bristol Sport oversees the business, commercial and operational interests of its affiliated clubs which include Championship football club Bristol City, Premiership rugby union team Bristol Bears, British Basketball League outfit Bristol Flyers, Bristol City Women’s Football and Bristol Bears Women. It also serves in this remit for Ashton Gate.

PTI was first appointed by Bristol Sport in 2018 to commence a digital transformation project. Following the extension of the deal, the next phase of work will focus on digital consumer experience and preparing Ashton Gate for the next phase of its development – the delivery of a world-class Sporting Quarter for the city.

The Sporting Quarter will see a new 4,000 seat Sports and Convention Centre built adjacent to the stadium. It will be a new home for the Bristol Flyers and mean that the sporting group’s basketball, rugby and football teams will all call Ashton Gate home. The proposed development will also include a 232-room hotel, along with residential and commercial units, with plans having been submitted to Bristol City Council in June.

Ashton Gate is the largest conference and events venue in the South West of England and plays host to a number of major entertainment events including music concerts and national sporting finals. With a diverse visitor base, the focus of the next phase of development will be on delivering a truly unique experience based on a holistic view of the customer.

This approach will integrate the entire data and digital estate covering ticketing; catering; mobile app; website; streaming and digital marketing to understand how each individual interacts across the entire Bristol Sport and Ashton Gate portfolio, and to enable that personalised experience.

Mark Kelly, managing director at Bristol Sport and Ashton Gate, said: “The work we have done with PTI over the past three years has taken us forward hugely in terms of creating a better technology operation that improves the customer experience. This next phase of work is a natural extension which builds on those foundations to take that experience to the next level and allow us to realise our own ambitions as we look to scale our business.”

The news follows hot on the heels of PTI being appointed by the London Stadium to develop a Connected Stadium strategy, by Wasps and Coventry Building Society Arena to deliver its digital transformation strategy and by Birmingham’s NEC Group to deliver its mobile strategy. PTI has also recently launched a managed IT service offering to support its rapid expansion.

Mike Bohndiek, CEO of PTI, said: “Bristol Sport is one of the jewels in our crown and we are delighted to have been appointed to help them on their exciting journey. The roadmap for this next phase of work will not only improve the customer experience still further but drive retention and hopefully advocacy, identify where there are crossovers in interaction across its diverse portfolio of teams and events and through that personalised experience, improve the lifetime value of its customer base.”

Image: Bristol Sport