invaluable : “ I was very determined to prove myself and succeed on merit rather than be seen just as the boss ’ s son . It was very hard work , lots of hours but lots of fun . That experience stood me in good stead because all these years later when I see young lads doing it , I know how hard that work is and can relate to them .”
Arena ’ s MD is far from the only executive to have spent decades at the business . Among the many long stayers is sales & marketing director David Withey , who joined the business back in 1977 , and relative newcomer Bradley Merchant – the company ’ s project director – who joined in 1990 .
“ We ’ ve around 15 staff , at different levels in this business , who have been with us for at least 30 years ,” says Withey . “ That provides a continuity in service and gives our clients confidence , because many of our staff are very experienced and really know their stuff .”
Arena Seating operated as a familyrun business for 24 years before being bought out in the mid-90s . It was floated on the AMES market in 2018 , and is now part of the multidisciplinary Arena Group .
In terms of its product offering , one of the most pivotal moments for the business was the launch of its Clearview seating system ; a reconfigurable , demountable seating grandstand that was rolled out at the London 2012 Olympics . The system has since been used at Queen ’ s Club , the Commonwealth Games 2022 and Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics .
“ All the design work leading up to the Olympics led to the development of our Clearview system – a multi rake system forming a parabolic curve ,” says Withey . “ The further you go back in a stadium , the steeper you need the seats , so we developed the system and rolled it out for the very first time at the Queen ’ s Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace . We then shipped it down the road and built the arena for the beach volleyball in Horse Guards Parade . It meant that you had a great view from any given seat , which before was almost impossible .”
The Arena Seating offering has continued to evolve to include upholstered and padded seating system , which Withey compares to multiplex cinema seats , used for the British Film Festival on the Embankment in London .
“ We ’ re constantly looking for improvements and increasing the flexibility in the system ,” he says .
Among the many recent mayor wins that Bradley Merchant has been involved in was a partnership with Scottish Rugby to develop and supply a seating system for Edinburgh Rugby ’ s new DAM Health Stadium , and temporary seating and an Arena Super Deck temporary structure for the first ever Major League Baseball Series in Europe , at London Stadium .
Merchant says that the Olympics has always proven to be a landmark
Royal Navy Tattoo , Portsmouth
Diriyah Arena , Saudi Arabia
focus for the company when it comes to developing and investing in new product solutions , and the event is very much central to the business ’ ten-year plan .
“ We delivered significantly to London 2012 , less to Brazil 2016 but increased our involvement again for Tokyo 2020 ,” he says . “ We ’ re looking at Paris 2024 as being the start of the next era for us . It ’ s all about new product , innovative design and bringing in new equipment , new services , new offerings , with sustainability at the forefront of that . Not just sustainability in terms of responsible sourcing and carbon impact but sustainability in the way that the products are used going forward . So , we ’ re not just looking at the Paris Olympic Games , we ’ re looking forward to two or three Games . While nothing in life is guaranteed , we have to look
25