The Stadium Experience - When Results Off The Pitch Can Be Just As Important As Results On The Pitch

As the new Head of Club Wembley & Hospitality, Paul Scannell now oversees the full spectrum of the exclusive membership and all its operations. Previously Head of Hospitality for The Football Association and Wembley Stadium, Paul has also held senior management roles with the Singapore Sports Hub and Gordon Ramsay Restaurants. He has long-standing ties to the venue, starting his hospitality career working in the old Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena whilst still at university.

We caught up with Paul to discuss his new role and understand in greater depth what goes on behind the scenes at the national football stadium within its now infamous hospitality suites to create a seamless and exhilarating experience, to ensure members and visitors return over and over again.

Paul, congratulations on the new role at Club Wembley, I bet it is as exciting as it may feel daunting. You’ve been part of the Wembley family for many years now but how will you look to improve the fantastic Club Wembley experience for visitors?

Thank you, it is certainly a mixture of feelings, but excitement is definitely the overriding emotion. Club Wembley is a brilliant team of people who is committed to delivering the best experiences for our members. To now have the opportunity to lead that passionate team is a pleasure, and I’m excited about the plans we have in the future.

With so many events this summer just gone and on the horizon, are you still experiencing issues left over from the pandemic, and how are you looking to solve these?

I think such a brilliant start to the new season has enabled us to start putting the pandemic behind us. So far, we have had multiple nights from Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and the return of Capital’s Summertime Ball, the incredible

win from England in the UEFA Women’s Euros Final, and the global eyes of music on us as the chosen destination for the Taylor Hawkins – Foo Fighters tribute concert. It was incredible to see Wembley Stadium Connected by EE brimming with fans & supporters young and old. Our focus is very much about looking forward now and building an even bigger offering of sporting events and concerts next year that includes the return of the NFL Jaguars v Broncos and Harry Styles 2023 Love on Tour and much, much more.

With hospitality integral to all stadiums these days, what would you say are the most important factors in ensuring the experience ensures repeat visitors?

Listening to your members and fans. We ensure that we are collating feedback from every event that we deliver at Wembley Stadium Connected by EE, both post event and from our team during. We listen, and over the years have evolved our offering to ensure we are truly delivering experiences and products that our consumers want. That includes in ensuring we have different levels of membership to suit different people’s needs – from more corporate dining in Bobby Moore, through to the unique immersive experience of Number Nine. Our Head of Culinary; Harry Lomas and Delaware North culinary team ensures that we cater for varying desires and cultures. And from the moment people arrive at the gate they are greeted by friendly and committed stewards right up to event hosts escorting them to their membership, we ensure that we are helpful. Number Nine in particular offers guests’ prosecco on arrival, complimentary flowing drinks, oyster shuckers and table service throughout. I think there’s a real personable touch at Club Wembley, despite the high footfall, we’ve managed to maintain this. We get feedback all of the time that highlights individual kindness and examples of where our team has gone the extra mile – whether that’s for Ed Sheeran’s younger fans, or a loyal supporter on match day. We create an inclusive experience with the intention that we are also helping people to create memories.

Any stadium experience can only be as good as the team working around you, although you will already know most of the faces you meet each day and on matchday. How difficult have the logistics been managing so many events this summer?

Just how personable and helpful the team is. Each event brings a different number of fans, different ages, and different backgrounds. So, we try to ensure that we tailor our offering to suit each individual audience. There were so many memorable moments this summer, including watching the teams of Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran, seamlessly setting up for their multi-night shows as well as Capital’s Summertime Ball set up for the variety of acts. Then seeing the Wembley Stadium Connected by EE team turn the bowl back into the global stage for the UEFA Women’s Euro Finals. I’m never not impressed by what goes on behind the scenes and the levels of hard work and care. Sure, things pop up – but we have a very solution led team.

What aspects do you feel are most important to ensure the positive fan experience in stadia in the UK? High-speed wifi we know is a major concern affecting stadiums in this country?

It can be, and we try to ensure that all members have access to our WIFI at Wembley Stadium Connected by EE, in all our areas as we know how much they enjoy posting about their experiences live from the stadium. But the fan experience for us starts from before they get to the stadium. E.g., we have exclusive partnerships with Champneys and Iconic Hotels that have a whole host of locations including The Mayfair Townhouse and Cliveden House, as well as complimentary trains from stations such as Marylebone and as far as Birmingham Moor Street. We want to ensure we make the journey as smooth as possible for fans travelling from further afield, by car we have on-site parking as well as valet parking and easy transport links to three local train stations across four lines to ensure everyone has a truly special end to end experience. From colour-coded zones offer easy-to-find entry to the ground and through to their designated space, to service in the room, entertainment that ranges from music and DJ’s to appearances from England Legends, and culminating in the best seats in the house. We’re speaking to our members all the time to ensure that we evolve and focus on the things they enjoy the most. Even when guests leave there Is the smooth flow of egress thanks to our stop/start light system within the fan zones that are clearly sign-posted and supported by our stewards all the way up to the main station; Wembley Park to ease congestion.

Lastly, what is it you find most rewarding about your new role and how would you wish to encourage anyone that holds scepticism to join the stadia hospitality sector?

For me, its being involved in the creation of such a variety of experiences, Wembley Stadium hosts a myriad of events and no two are the same. The interaction with our members and sharing in that excitement means so much to me and the whole team across the stadium and Club Wembley. Seeing our guests in awe of their experience is what makes me love this job and the role Club Wembley might have played in helping to create special memories. I would encourage people that are interested in the hospitality sector to throw themselves in the deep end and if possible, like me, get as much experience from different roles to garner a true understanding of how the whole piece works together. It also enables you to have empathy with a wider team if your experience is more varied. Yes, there will be challenges, but isn’t there in all industries?

The Club Wembley membership guarantees one of the best seats in the house for major sporting events including England games, the FA Cup and Carabao Cup Finals. Members also have priority access to purchase tickets for concerts and other sporting events including The NFL as well as exclusive member-only events such as watching the England teams train at St George’s Park.

For more information on Club Wembley please visit: https://www.clubwembley.com