NOVEMBER | THE COMMENTATOR
Who are ya, who are ya?!
The outdoor
penny drops for
Martin Fullard
A question: does everyone who
works in the outdoor events
industry realise they actually
work in the outdoor events
industry? I’d wager they don’t.
The other week I was asked
by my paymaster how many
outdoor events I’d been to so far
in 2018. I paused for a moment
and reeled off one or two that
would be familiar to the Access
All Areas readership.
“Is that it,” he asked scornfully.
“Err… hmm,” I replied. It then
dawned on me that I trudge
along to Kingsmeadow Stadium
every other week to watch my
beloved – and occasionally
44
frustrating – AFC Wimbledon.
I’ve been going to live football
matches since the late 80s, and
at no point in all that time have
I ever considered that it might
be part of the outdoor events
industry.
Generally, the Wombles do
things pretty well. Pre-match
hospitality usually serves up a
decent spread and the club is
good at getting former heroes
along to reminisce about the
glory days. Then, though, we
have the security, the stewards,
the bar staff, the guys in the
burger van, the turnstile
operators and the jovial folk in
the club shop.
They are all part of the
outdoor events scene, even if
only for an afternoon, but I doubt
they very much would realise
that.
Do any of the hired stewards
read Access, or did the security
“They are all part of the
outdoor events scene, even
if only for an afternoon”
personnel register for the
Festival & Outdoor Events
Show? It stands to reason that
the answer is probably not.
Needless to say, I assume
most of the matchday staff
are outsourced, but the club
itself certainly knows it has a
hospitality duty.
The issue is, when it comes
to things like this, the outdoor
events industry is very much
operating in the background:
people are there for the football.
So, when best practice updates
are issued, or there’s something
new to learn, the ground staff
will learn this from the football
authorities – be that the Football
Association, the English Football
League, or even UEFA. But are
these institutions as switched on
to event best practice as we hope
they are?
At the Festival & Outdoor
Events Show in September, I
was privy to a superb session on
event safety, chaired by Steve
Baker of S.T.O.R.M. 4 Events.
It was all about the threat of
terrorism and other such real
risks you face at large events
(even AFC Wimbledon get
crowds of 4,000). There was no
shortage of event organisers
there, but certainly no one from
the world of sports.
My guess is that a lot of
football clubs (or rugby, cricket
and so on) don’t realise there is
an industry out there which,
collaboratively, can solve issues,
offer advice on best practice, and
bring people together to create a
better experience for the paying
public. We must tell individuals
that we – the industry – can
help.
Unfortunately, the one thing
it can’t do, is teach them how to
find the net.