The Terrace was introduced as a dynamic, digitally enabled fan zone to revolutionise the matchday experience at Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club.
Designed to deliver a seamless, digital-first customer journey, it offers premium food and beverage options while significantly reducing queue times and improving visitor flow.
With a focus on increasing average spend per head and aligning closely with the club’s identity and values, The Terrace also serves as a versatile, multi-use venue that extends its appeal well beyond football events.
Solutions and features
Sodexo Live! led the transformation of The Terrace by seamlessly integrating hospitality expertise with cutting-edge digital innovation. Fans could place orders through multiple channels, including an app, kiosks and bar terminals, resulting in 50% of transactions being digital.
Immersive digital infrastructure, such as dynamic screens, enhanced the experience with live menus, promotions and way-finding.
Strategic partnerships with brands like Heineken and American Express elevated the hospitality experience.
Staff were thoroughly trained, and a soft launch phase allowed for refinement before full rollout. Operational agility was further enhanced through live dashboards for real-time staff allocation, while continuous data review fed into the Sodexo Live! analytics platform to support ongoing optimisation.
The results:
- £16.80 average transaction value on match days – a 30% increase vs. pre-Terrace baseline
- 10,000+ unique customers, with many repeat visitors
- 7.25/10 average customer satisfaction
- 60,000+ products sold
Insight-led food strategy tailored to fans
The challenge
Brighton & Hove Albion FC wanted a food and drink offer that would reflect local tastes, stand out from the competition and encourage spend across both matchday and non-matchday audiences.
Our approach
We developed a customer-led food strategy, using fan insights to shape menu choices, pricing and presentation. We crafted a customer-led food strategy shaped by fan insights, guiding our approach to menu design, pricing and presentation. By identifying pricing gaps, dish count opportunities and category white spaces, we aligned our offering with trends from high-street food halls and stadium venues to elevate the overall experience.
A new food identity
In partnership with acclaimed chef Steven Edwards, we launched ‘Bites’ by Steven Edwards, a concept rooted in Brighton’s food culture. We also collaborated with local ‘Lost Boys’ Chicken brand creating signature dishes, such as the ‘Lost Boys Chicken Tenders’, putting a creative spin on handheld favourites, infusing stadium classics with Brighton’s distinctive local flavour.
Premium choices, elevated flavours
Guests enjoyed an upgraded food and drink offer, featuring craft beers, signature cocktails and exclusive partnerships with Heineken and American Express. The focus on quality ingredients, distinctive flavours and brand-led experiences created a premium yet welcoming atmosphere.
Conclusion
Smart, local, scalable. A bold step forward in fan-first food. The Terrace is more than a fan zone, it’s a scalable blueprint for stadium innovation.
By combining smart tech, behavioural insights and hospitality, Sodexo Live! and Brighton & Hove Albion FC have created a flexible, future-ready venue model that’s already influencing fan zone development across the Premier League.