New Technology and Ticket Sell outs at Forsyth Barr Stadium

High demand for Forsyth Barr Stadiumâs eight-seater Open Club Reserve (OCR) membership option has resulted in a sellout, well in advance of the Dunedin Stadiumâs opening in August 2011.
OCRâs, a block of reserved seats in the main seating bowl with seat-side food and beverage service, were available as eight or twelve seats. The twenty available OCR eights have now all been allocated and proven to be an important component of the private sector funding strategy. The OCR twelve still has limited availability.
Forsyth Barr Stadium Chief Executive David Davies commented, âOpen Club Reserves are a relatively new concept in New Zealand and have been designed for groups who want to enjoy the atmosphere of the main stand but still want their own space.
âTo have demand outstrip supply in one of our membership options already is a fantastic result. The interest from the region has been extremely positive and while we still have some way to go, weâre on target and confident that we will reach our private sector funding goals.�?
To date, $35.7 million of the targeted $45.5 million in private sector funding has been achieved through the sale of memberships and sponsorship for the Stadium.
The stadium my also introduce a âcashlessâ card prepayment system for food and beverage sales as a result of approval by respondents to technology survey undertake by stadium managers Dunedin Venues..
61.8% of respondents thought a âtap and goâ system to be a great idea and indicated they would use it. The system would speed up F&B service and increase Stadium revenue. It would be administered through a preloaded card that could be topped up at various points in and around the Stadium.
Only 16% of respondents would prefer to use cash to pay for food, beverages and merchandise.
Not wanting to miss a second of the action, the concept of pre-ordering food and beverage from seats was popular. Over three quarters (76.6%) would do this and of these, most (61.6%) would pay a surcharge for this service.
Ticket purchasing also seems to be moving away from traditional methods with an overwhelming 82.3% preferring to purchase online.
The technology survey provided valuable insight and the results will help shape the long term offering at the Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Speaking of the survey, David Davies added âwhile we are focused on opening in August 2011, we are constantly thinking about future developments and how the Stadium experience will evolve.
âMany overseas stadiums are successfully using cashless systems to drastically reduce the time guests spend queuing, and therefore increasing the time they spend enjoying the action.
âThe response to this idea is encouraging and gives us confidence to explore this concept further.�?
The fan experience at Forsyth Barr Stadium was featured in the September/October 2010 issue of Australasian Leisure Management.