A record run of success for Emirates Old Trafford this summer

0
2027

Four-month-long cricket season generates biggest hospitality numbers to date.

As the curtain falls on Emirates Old Trafford’s epic summer of cricket, which saw Lancashire Cricket Club host a record year of international and domestic matches, the hospitality team tallies the scores on its busiest period to date.

Across the six ICC Cricket World Cup fixtures, the 4th Specsavers Ashes Test, seven Vitality Blast fixtures, as well as a vast number of conference and events that took place this summer, over three-quarters of a million fans passed through the Club’s gates – the highest number ever recorded in its 155-year history over the same time period.

Eight live matches were broadcast from Manchester to a captivated global audience of over one billion, cementing the club’s profile way beyond its familiar north west territory. The India vs Pakistan match in the ICC Cricket World Cup on Sunday 16th June was the most-watched game in cricket history and had over 600,000 ticket applications for this fixture alone. It was also the most tweeted match with 2.9 million related tweets, making it the most talked about fixture on social media ever in One-Day International cricket; even bigger than the final where England beat New Zealand at Lord’s in a dramatic super over.

For some international fans though, the only way to capture the thrill of the action was to be there in person. The club has revealed that the furthest one group travelled to see the Ashes, was 11,272 miles, making the pilgrimage to Manchester from Auckland, New Zealand.

A total of 6,800 staff were employed on-site to look after the hordes of fans over the course of the summer, and with 14,000 cricket hospitality guests enjoying 420,000 beers and 1,250 tailor-made meals, the hospitality team were at the heart of the action. Front of house, kitchen, bar, VIP, ushering and administrative staff collectively worked thousands of hours as the Manchester stadium was at the centre of global sporting attention.

Worldwide sporting events such as these are synonymous with unprecedented media attendance, and the Club welcomed over 2,500 media through the doors of the UA92 Players and Media Centre. Over 12,000 coffees were served and a monumental 225,000kg of biscuits consumed by the media throughout the course of the 2019 summer.

Angela Hodson, head of sales at Emirates Old Trafford, said: “This summer has been one of the most incredible to date and has created an opportunity for our hospitality team to showcase our exceptional offering to a global audience.

“Having successfully delivered over 14,000 covers to a variety of guests, we believe we are in the strongest position to deliver a unique and exciting hospitality experience, both for the world’s biggest sporting events such as the Ashes and ICC Cricket World Cup, and also for prestigious conferences such as TheStadiumBusiness Summit, which we hosted earlier in the year.

“This summer has been like no other, and it’s been a privilege to lead such a talented team and welcome so many guests. We’re proud to have placed the global spotlight on Manchester as an international destination.” 

Molly Hookings
Author: Molly Hookings

Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com