The future vision for AO Arena
Featured image credit: ASM Global
Venue and event management and strategy firm ASM Global has strengthened its ties with Forward Associates by entering into a strategic partnership with the multi-disciplinary venue strategist.
Founded in 2015, Forward Associates has offices in London, Milan and Helsinki and is in the process of opening a home office in the United States. Its wide-ranging experiences and areas of specialism range from architecture to interior design, venue strategy, premium seat sales and marketing.
Currently, Forward Associates is shaping what is intended to be the next generation of hospitality at English Premier League football club Everton’s new stadium, from the inception of the ‘All’ master brand, which seeks to rebalance traditional football hospitality, to the delivery of a state-of-the-art sales showroom in Liverpool’s iconic Liver Building.
Forward Associates is working alongside the ASM Global team at Stockholm Live developing the future strategy for their portfolio of venues including the Avicii Arena. It has also been instrumental in supporting the new, transformative design at the AO Arena in Manchester as it undergoes a major £50m (€58.7m/$64.7m) redevelopment and has completed projects for ASM Global venues in the U.S. including Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
The new partnership seeks to bolster ASM Global and Forward Associates’ combined commitment to bringing innovative approaches to the future of the fan experience, specifically focusing on ASM’s portfolio of venues in the live entertainment, trade show, hospitality and sports spaces.
ASM Global president and CEO, Ron Bension, said: “As we continue to embrace cutting-edge technologies and industry disruptors on a global scale, producing renowned content through our unmatched relationships, culinary artistry, sustainability solutions and client profitability, we’re creating a new intersection that fuses these attributes together.
“Now we are investing in the industry’s leading innovators of guest experience, Forward Associates, who we’ll work with to bring all of this to life, looking at the guest journey, reimagining it for everyone and ensuring there is an even wider choice for the entire audience.”
Roy Westwood, CEO of Forward Associates, added: “Whether a new build or a repositioning as part of a master-planning exercise, Forward Associates is proud to be the leader in guest experience innovation.
“Together with ASM Global, we have a shared vision to continually evolve in this space, with a commitment to always delivering the very best for live entertainment fans. With ASM Global’s international portfolio and reach, this is an exciting move for us; and we are very much looking forward to getting started.”
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