Retail outlets in the stadium seek to bring products closer to the people in the event of an entertaining game. Majority of the fans in a stadium tend to stay glued to their seats for the whole duration of stadium events but they would probably need a bite or a drink as the game is going on. This necessitates the need for retail stores in stadia. Having this in mind, a lot of job opportunities in this angle have been sought after. In a stadium, you will find different retail stores that have different merchandise either for commemoration or refreshments. Here are the retail stores that you may find in a stadium:
Snack Stands and Restaurants
Nothing like a great munchable or drink as you cheer on for your favorite sports team and show love for the game. These retail stores that have sports-themed designs deal in snacks like hot dogs and popcorn and soft drinks. They strive to create a hunger-free sports experience by going the extra mile of delivering the snacks and drinks at the comfort of the fans seats. You don’t have to worry about carrying your snacks from home or buying food at restaurants to go to. You will get served hot food at the outlets in the stadium as you watch a match or cheer on your favorite team. Stands are generally located anywhere inside the stadium; by that architectural timber pillar, next to the merchandise shop — these can be moved from one place to another place easily. Restaurants are located at a fixed space, so it might be useful to think of the location of your restaurant since you will have to be content with its location for a while.
Merchandise Retail Stores
The sports merchandise sold in stadia is often associated with quality and uniqueness. These retail stores in the stadia offer a variety of items such as jerseys, caps, sports shoes, wrist bands, watches, phone cases, water bottles and much more that are branded with teams’ logos and colors. These serve as a souvenir for a particular game that the fans attend and may be used even after the game ends. The merchandise retail outlets also tend to have items that can be used in the game for cheering such as vuvuzelas and team banners.
Ticket Stands
You don’t have to worry if you happen to have been too engaged or you forgot to buy a ticket online. There are retail stores at the entrance of the stadium from which you can buy your tickets and enjoy your game. The challenge faced by fans is that the tickets sold at the entrance are at a fairly higher price than buying them on the website in advance. However, it solves the issue of having to miss a game because you didn’t buy the ticket earlier.
“Rent a Bib” Outlets
This retail stores come in handy in the event that a team comes to train at the stadium that is away from their regular training ground. Teams rent bibs and training equipment from these retail stores to use them for practice. These stores give out bibs, training boots, balls and other equipment that is necessary for the practice
Sports-Themed Bars
Some fans tend to enjoy a game with a beer at hand. This has led to the establishment of clubs and bars all over that have large screens to showcase matches. Try the feel of the real deal! Bars at the stadium are just the outlets to go for to achieve the feel and experience of a real match. Over a beer or a glass of wine, fans enjoy watching a live match; a totally different feel from when they watch it on a screen at a bar elsewhere. In a stadium where there are spaces for hire for a group of audience such as the Marvel Stadium, the Melbourne based resident bar could be used for hire, depending on the availability of the bar.
The retail stores in the stadia tend to go an extra mile to ensure that fans enjoy their experience at the game, and in turn, make a profit from the sale of their products.
Now let’s talk a bit more in-depth about the most profitable type of retail store in a stadium, namely, the restaurant. Just like any other businesses, it is important for restaurants to be able to attract customers to come in and spend their money on food. Here are some pointers on how a restaurant that is located in a stadium can attract the right type of crowd.
The theme of a place influences greatly the type of people it draws. A restaurant is no different. People will prefer eating at a specific location just because it is themed in a manner that impersonates their interests. This is no different from sports fanatics. A great way to have sports fans feel at home is having a theme that highlights the different angles of sports. This theme should capture the nitty-gritty that makes the fans enjoy themselves, that is, enacting an environment that resonates to a live sports event. At a stadium, they may interact with other fans and feel free to support and cheer for their teams. Creating this environment at a restaurant will inevitably draw them close. For a great example of a themed restaurant, take a look at the Henry Jones restaurant, a beautiful eatery that is based on the award-winning themed hotel in Hobart, Tasmania.
As you contemplate on the design of the sports theme that you would like to use, you should search for the various types and how best they can be done. As you visit sites and avenues with such designs and themes, your creativity will be kindled. Task yourself also with finding a name that will revolve around the theme you will choose to use.
• Theme and Colour Decor
After identifying the theme you would like to add on, you can now focus on how to integrate colors to it and the type of artwork and pictorials that will be displayed. If you happen to have a venue close to a stadium where you will open your restaurant, the best idea would be to capture the colors of the home team. To add on to the visual aspect, you can use different spots at the restaurant to showcase a variety of sports. This will spark visual interest to the customers when they enter the restaurant and would want to be associated with the corner with their favorite sport. You can use pictures of the different sports stars in their respective corners as a way of improving on the visuality and memorabilia. Take care to use these sports elements sparingly, as too much of them can make the decor looks tacky. Utilize natural-looking materials such as glulam timber as a way to smoothly integrate these sports elements into space.
• Entertainment
A sports-themed restaurant will draw attention to sports fanatics. As much as you would like to have different forms of entertainment such as music or bands, you ought to have flat screens with unobstructed views for the customers to enjoy. This appeals to their interests in entertainment, hence, will make them come again. The number of screens you choose to have in the restaurant depends on the design and the size. You also need to ensure audibility by adding quality speakers to the restaurant.
• Food Catalogue and Menu
For a sports-themed restaurant, you should configure your menu to have a sports-like feel. You can either choose to creatively incorporate sports to the name of the foods. As much as it may be a burger or a pizza, try making the name sound sport-like. It is an excellent way of playing the part of being a sports restaurant and will definitely spark interest to customers. These unique names will also give you an edge over your competition. Also, it might be worth your time to think about special meal packages if you think that will work, just like what this Hobart based restaurant did with its lunch menu.
• Staff Uniform and Equipment Design
You can choose to customize the staff uniforms to look sport-like. This may include aprons designed in a sporty manner or shirts with sport teams colors and logos. For each sports corner, you can have a color of uniform that serves the customers there. You may also decide to have equipment around the restaurant that customers will associate them with sports such as soccer-ball light globes.
Achieving the best sports-themed look for your restaurant may be tough and costly to work out but will surely be of importance to the growth of your business. Creativity will give you an edge over the rest in the game!
