Sports venue: How to make your stadium a 365 conferences and events destination?

Transforming your sports venue into a year-round destination for conferences and events is a powerful way to unlock new revenue and engage a broader audience. With the right venue marketing strategies and operational flexibility, your stadium can become a hub for corporate events, concerts, and more. Discover how to position your venue as an effective venue that attracts potential clients beyond game day.

Why your sports venue should host events year-round

A sports venue is a purpose-built facility designed to host live sporting events, from football and rugby matches to athletics and motorsport.

Across the UK, these venues range from iconic stadiums and arenas to racecourses and specialist training grounds. 

But today’s sports venues are more than just matchday destinations—they’re dynamic, multi-use environments with the potential to deliver exceptional experiences for guests all year round. 

With the right infrastructure and support, they can become thriving hubs for conferences, exhibitions, and corporate events.

A modern sports venue has the potential to be much more than a matchday destination. By opening your doors to events throughout the year, you can transform your stadium into a dynamic event space that serves a wide range of audiences and purposes. This approach not only maximises the use of your facilities but also creates new opportunities for engagement and revenue beyond the sporting calendar.

Unlocking new revenue streams through event space utilisation 

Utilising your stadium as an event space opens up multiple revenue channels. From hosting trade shows to private galas, the ability to receive events of all types ensures your venue remains profitable outside the sports calendar.

Attracting potential clients beyond sports fan

By diversifying your offerings, you can appeal to a wider target audience. Corporate clients, community groups, and entertainment promoters are all looking for unique venues to host their events at your venue.

Enhancing the value of your stadium as an effective venue

An effective venue is one that adapts to the evolving needs of its clients. Upgrading your stadium with flexible layouts, breakout rooms, and premium hospitality options enhances its usability and appeal. These improvements not only increase conversion rates for event bookings but also elevate your venue’s reputation as a professional, high-performing space.

Turning your stadium into a sought-after event space

To become a year-round destination, your sports venue must offer versatility, reliability, and a memorable experience. This means investing in infrastructure, technology, and service delivery that supports a wide range of event types and audience sizes.

Key types of events to host: form corporate events to concerts

From high-profile corporate events and product launches to concerts, exhibitions, and charity fundraisers, your venue can host a diverse calendar of event types. This variety not only maximises occupancy but also positions your stadium as one of the UK’s most flexible destination types for event organisers.

Adapting your sports venue to suit every event at your venue

Adaptability is essential. Features like modular seating, retractable stages, and multi-use hospitality suites allow your venue to seamlessly transition between event formats. Whether it’s a 20-person board meeting or a 20,000-person concert, your stadium should be ready to deliver.

Ensuring flexibility and premium facilities to appeal to organisers

Event organisers prioritise venues that offer both flexibility and quality: 

• high-speed connectivity ;
• AV-ready spaces ;
• dedicated event staff ;
• and seamless logistics ;

are now baseline expectations. By delivering on these, your venue becomes a trusted choice for repeat bookings.

Marketing efforts that drive bookings for your sport venues

To stand out in a competitive market, your marketing efforts must be strategic, data-driven, and aligned with your venue’s strengths. A strong digital presence and targeted outreach are key to driving consistent bookings.

Building visibility with tailored venue marketing strategies

Tailored venue marketing strategies—such as SEO-optimised content, virtual tours, and case studies—help showcase your venue’s capabilities. Leveraging social media platforms and paid campaigns can further amplify your reach and attract new business.

Reaching potential clients through targeted marketing efforts

Understanding your target audience is crucial. Use CRM data and analytics to segment your outreach and personalise your messaging. Whether you're targeting event planners, corporate decision-makers, or entertainment agencies, relevance drives results.

Leveraging partnerships and networks to position your event space

Collaborating with local tourism boards, business networks, and event agencies can significantly boost your visibility. These partnerships provide social proof and open doors to new client segments, reinforcing your venue’s credibility and reach.

Why SodexoLive! is the partner of choice for sports venue

Sodexo Live! brings deep expertise and a proven track record in transforming stadiums into thriving, 365-day destinations.

Expertise in managing sports venues as 365-day destinations

With decades of experience across iconic UK venues, Sodexo Live! understands the operational, commercial, and experiential elements needed to keep your stadium active and profitable all year round.

A standout example is our partnership with Brighton & Hove Albion FC at the Amex Stadium, where we deliver catering and hospitality for the club’s new fan zone—transforming matchday energy into a vibrant, multi-use space that supports events and community engagement beyond football. This kind of innovation is at the heart of how we help sports venues evolve into thriving, 365-day destinations.

Comprehensive support: hospitality, logistics and event delivery

From gourmet catering and guest services to logistics and technical production, Sodexo Live! provides end-to-end support that ensures every event is delivered to the highest standard.

At Hampden Park, Scotland’s national stadium, our team helps deliver a diverse calendar of large-scale events year after year. Known for hosting world-class concerts—from global superstars like Pink, Coldplay, Calvin Harris, Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher, Lana Del Rey and Kendrick Lamar—the venue continues to attract thousands of fans beyond the sporting season. Our seamless hospitality and operational expertise ensure every performance, conference, and celebration is a memorable experience for organisers and guests alike.

Proven success in attracting and retaining corporate event clients

Our partnerships with leading brands and organisations speak for themselves. We help venues attract and retain corporate clients through exceptional service, strategic planning, and a commitment to excellence.

Make your sports venue a go-to location for events

By reimagining your stadium as a year-round event space, you unlock new opportunities for growth, engagement, and revenue. With the right infrastructure, marketing, and support from a trusted partner like Sodexo Live!, your sports venue can become a premier destination for all kinds of events.

Put your venue in the spotlight