Although box suites are sold out at Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal FC, industry trends tell us the football (soccer) marketplace is shifting, with many premium stadia having more box suite inventory than the market can bear. Arsenal FC wanted 20.20 to explore and reimagine a space that combines 12 box suites and defines a new hospitality offer at the stadium.
The Avenell Club opened in July 2019 with sales well ahead of expectation. This new box level premium experience concept for approximately 200 people is the first of four 12 box suite conversions planned at Emirates Stadium, to be situated at each corner of the ground. These hardest-to-sell box suites are now transformed into the stadium’s most versatile hospitality environment – a new private members club with bar and lounge spaces and panoramic views of the pitch.
The Avenell Club takes its name from the road of the club’s former home (Highbury Stadium), laying strong emotional foundations within the current stadium and connecting straight to the heart of the local community.
The Avenell Club is an experiential game changer in UK sports hospitality. With 12 box suites consolidated into a single lounge, it feels like a luxury airline clubhouse but supercharged for sports and bowl-based events. Using the “A” of Avenell as a metaphorical arrowhead, the whole experience is designed to stimulate the countdown to the main event. With a grazing food offer, help-yourself premium drinks, and the perfect mix of seating/perch/dining styles, this space accommodates guests any which way they choose to enjoy their matchday.
On non-matchday, with its feature bar, tables, direct views into the bowl (thanks to a floor-to-ceiling glazed window), and mix of lounge and formal seating, this club offers an enviable vantage point for any gig or event, and can be transformed as a meeting/event space itself.
Combining a signature North London attitude with premium materials and a refined approach to service, The Avenell Club is a bright and inviting lounge that pays homage to the glorious anticipation ahead of every match. Amping up a sense of drama keys the experience, so time sensitive lighting intensifies as kickoff draws near. Artwork celebrates moments of great anticipation from Arsenal FC’s history to create conversation among fans.
The design team worked with DNC to embrace the latest trends in food and drink but also to create a menu that worked with The Avenell Club’s laid-back premium matchday proposition. With kickoff times changing every game, the prospect of eating at regular mealtimes just doesn’t happen. In truth, a matchday lasts five or six hours, so everything in this space is designed in-step with the season (food and football), time of day (orientated around kickoff), and with a view of the other key matches happening that day in the Premier League.
The venue reflects the modernity of the Arsenal brand and the expectations of today's premium guest – a more social, more casual, and more flexible place to gather together.
See more about the Avenell Club and Arsenal FC Hospitality here
Project Partners:
20.20 worked alongside:
- Portview: Fit-Out Contractor
- Viaduct: Furniture Supply
- Delaware North: Catering Equipment & Training
- Urban Planters: Tree Supply
- Solus: Flooring Supplier
- Hother: QS