March 2010. North East’s largest venue to target international events
The North East’s largest venue is set to embark on a major campaign to attract large scale exhibitions and conferences.
St James’ Park has more than a 100 boxes and suites which can cater events ranging from those for a handful of people to a sit down dinner for a 1000, the only venue in the region that can accommodate events of this size.
And now the club’s events team is set to proactively market the venue to highlight its easy accessibility and the versatility of the spaces available to organisations and companies wanting to stage an event or an exhibition in the North East.
The conference and banqueting at Newcastle United is run by Sodexo Prestige, the country’s leading event caterer and provider of corporate hospitality packages, and the company is committed to building on the positive reputation the Tyneside venue already has.
St James Park is already widely acknowledged as the home of football in the region and the plan is to use that reputation – and the partnership between Sodexo Prestige and Newcastle United FC – to help boost the conference and events side of the business. St James’ Park already runs a highly proactive events operation which includes attracting tens of thousands of guests for special occasions which include Christmas parties and celebrations such as Mothers’, Fathers’ and Valentine’s Day.
In 2009 the club held more than 2000 events, including accommodating over 1500 people who turned up for the auditions for Big Brother.
The club is now planning to raise its profile outside of the region to highlight its easy accessibility and versatility of the space available.
“St James’ Park is the only venue in the North East that can sit 1000 people down for dinner in one room,” said Shireen Rowley, the club’s event sales director. “We want to ensure that we are the preferred choice for companies in the region and the UK. St James Park is perfectly placed to accommodate not only large dinners but also conferences with multiple breakout areas and networking events. “Our new exhibition packages offer easy access, excellent transport links, AV equipment and with out in-house events and catering team, we are well positioned to attract this new market to the city.”
Colin Perkins, Catering Services Director at NUFC, said he believed the strength of what St James’ Park had to offer and its reputation made it an extremely attractive proposition to major events organisers. “St James’ Park already operates highly successfully as a venue and has more than 100 events a month,” confirmed Mr Perkins. “The aim now is to build on this reputation and ensure that companies and organisations outside of the area realise what we have to offer.”
Facilities
St James Park is the perfect choice for exhibition organisers and can offer:
- The Bamburgh Suite - 17,814 sq.ft of exhibition space with high quality acoustics, variable lighting, full sound system
- 16 dedicated conference & exhibition rooms
- 70 Executive Boxes over looking the pitch for conference rooms
- Wi-Fi enabled to 10mb
- Three phase power available on request
- Natural daylight and air conditioning in most exhibition suites
- Conference rooms for visitor seminars
- Complimentary car parking spaces for any guests using conference & banqueting facilities (subject to availability)
- Flexible catering areas for efficient dining options
- Service lifts for quick and easy build up and break down
- Excellent transport links by air, road or rail. The stadium is situated on a main road with several bus services to and from the city centre and local areas
- Competitive rates
- Professional and experienced events team on-site
- Bespoke security arrangements through our partners Phoenix Eye to ensure complete privacy and confidentiality
Newcastle United’s conference and banqueting is run by Sodexo Prestige, the UK’s leading event caterer and provider of corporate hospitality packages. It is the official caterer and hospitality package provider for The Open Championship, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Royal Ascot. It also provides visitor catering and conference and event services at visitor attractions, museums and stadia such as Blenheim Palace, Knebworth House, Newcastle United and Everton Football Club, as well as Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Hampden Park stadium in Scotland.
Click here for more information on holding an exhibition at St James's Park