Stadium business conference revolution: Coliseum Summit hosts first real game for delegates
- In a historic development, a real football match will be organized for participating delegates to get ‘the full venue experience’
The 5th Coliseum Summit MENA will be held in Al Ain, UAE on November 4-5, 2015. For the first time, the stadium conference is being hosted in the premise of a stadium. Al Ain’s Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium has been chosen as the venue for the annual event, organized by the MJR Group.
The event will be hosted in cooperation with Deloitte, the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Al Ain Club Investment Company.
In a unique development, for the first time in the history of stadium conferences, the 5th Coliseum Summit MENA will organize a real football match for the participating delegates in an attempt to offer ‘the full venue experience’. The football match is bound to become one of the major highlights of this year’s conference, which is expected to be attended by over 300 delegates from across the sports venue sector.
“We are always talking and talking about the perfect venue and how to improve things. We thought what would be a better opportunity than to play an actual game in the stadium. I don’t think there’s a better way of feeling and testing a sports venue first hand,” said Michael Rennschmied, the CEO of MJR Group, explaining the idea behind the unique initiative.
The football match will offer delegates a unique insight from the players’ perspective. Their full venue experience will begin with arriving at the stadium on the team bus. They will also get access to the players’ locker/dressing rooms. They will enter the pitch through the players tunnel, and finally, get to play the game in the middle.
The last four editions of Coliseum Summit MENA were held in Doha, Qatar, primarily with a focus on 2022 FIFA World Cup and associated projects.
Announcing the change in venue for the summit, Michael Rennschmied said: “After successfully hosting Coliseum Summit MENA in Doha for the last four years, we have decided to bring the event to UAE this year. UAE is emerging as a great destination for sports venue sector with several sporting events lined up in the next few years. It will host the AFC Asian Cup 2019 and tenders for new stadiums are already out. Also, UAE’s strategic location makes it accessible for all the GCC states.”
Football match details:
- The match will be played between two teams (#TeamColiseum1 & #TeamColiseum2) comprising 22 players each. Each team will be expected to field 11 players in the first half followed by the remaining 11 in the second half
Team registration:
- Online registration will be available on first-come-first-serve basis to paying delegates only on http://www.coliseum-online.com/coliseum-mena-registration/
- A total of 44 paying delegates will be eligible to register for the match
- Alternate delegates will be assigned to respective teams vis. Registration 1 – #TeamColiseum1, Registration 2 – #TeamColiseum2, Registration 3 -#TeamColiseum1, Registration 4 – #TeamColiseum2 and so on
What to expect:
- The delegates will be given the full venue experience
- They will arrive at the stadium on the team bus
- They will get access to the players’ locker/dressing rooms
- They will enter the pitch through the players tunnel
- They will play in the football ground