‘The Hornets’ to lay out a spread for fans

Article posted by Coliseum, June 15^th, 2021

Image: Watford FC

Levy UK + Ireland, the sports and hospitality division of Compass Group UK and Ireland, has joined the English professional football club Watford F.C. (UK) family as the club’s new catering and hospitality partner.

‘Watford FC’ stated that the 10-year deal will begin with season 2021-2022 and means that Levy will be delivering food and beverage throughout ‘The Vic’ (read Vicarage Road), as well as managing the venue’s conference and events operations.

Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire (UK). They will play in the Premier League, the first tier of English football, in the 2021-2022 seasons.

Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of Watford F.C. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200.

During the season, supporters will be able to use Watford FC’s official app to pre-order before setting off for the match, while technology options inside the ground will include touchscreen ordering panels to ensure many serving points become easy collection areas.

‘Watford FC’ further stated that among many new and innovative experiences Levy are introducing, cashless tills and digital screens will also help speed up service while reducing physical contact to ensure the best hygiene measures are in place as ‘The Hornets’ fans return to ‘The Vic’ in significant numbers for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic which pounded the United Kingdom for a considerable long time but the situation has improved now with the vaccine rollout.

The partnership will see ‘The Hornets’ fans additionally benefit from Levy’s partnership with KERB (London street food collective), allowing the sampling of a variety of inspirational dishes from across the world via a network of street food caterers. The partnership will also allow supporters to sample new locally-sourced beverages as well as continuing to enjoy existing local brewers – such as ales from the ever-popular Tring Brewery.

Levy is a restaurant and hospitality company based in Chicago (US) specializing in providing food and beverage to major entertainment and sports venues. Founded in 1978, with a single family-run delicatessen in Water Tower Place, since 2006, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Britain’s Compass Group.

Jon Davies, Managing Director, Levy UK + Ireland, stated, “With promotion to the Premier League confirmed, we’re confident that Levy UK + I will give Watford fans another reason to cheer upon their return to Vicarage Road. At the heart of our approach, we’ll bring a more modern take on catering and hospitality at the club, in a way that engages the local community and introduces new technology to reinvent the matchday experience.”

Added Davies, “We have additionally looked at ways to maximize the venue’s potential outside of matchdays with a renewed focus placed on improving the club’s conference and events business.”

Levy UK + Ireland is the catering and hospitality partner to many of UK’s iconic sport, leisure, heritage, performing venues, conference, and exhibition centers. Its recipe for success is to create celebrated food and drink experiences and putting its partners and guests first. Levy UK + Ireland are the name behind great experiences.

Paul O’Brien, Watford FC’s Commercial Director, added, “We want to offer the very best for our supporters. Appointing Levy to handle our catering and hospitality will play a huge role in us achieving that. Some of the food we’ll be offering with Levy is incredible – bringing with it creativity, sustainability and seasonality to our offering. Bolstering our conference and events operations and Levy’s proposals to engage the local business community were also important factors behind our choice.”

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at www.coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.