Serving the Teesside Business Community | 23
BUSINESS
GOALS
Why Boro are top
of the league for
hospitality
Cornerstone Business Solutions is just one of the many local
firms who enjoy matchday hospitality at Middlesbrough FC.
If business is your goal, the Riverside Stadium
is the perfect place to wow long-standing and
prospective clients, reward staff or simply entertain
family and friends. Tees Business hears more from
some of Middlesbrough FC’s matchday regulars…
M
atchday at the Riverside Stadium
is about as far away from a stuffy
office environment as there is.
But days of great food, a few
drinks and hopefully a Boro goal or two
can create the perfect setting to conduct
business and form close-knit working
relationships.
That’s why hundreds of local
businesspeople head to the Riverside every
matchday – and leave smiling, regardless of
the result.
Whether it’s your very own piece of
the Riverside and a unique private dining
experience in one of the impressive
executive boxes, the high-class Ayresome
Lounge or the relaxed buzz of The
Middlehaven, there’s something for
everyone.
LV Shipping’s project support operations
manager Jonathan Lewin is part of a small
team who host the firm’s 15-seat executive
box overlooking the Riverside pitch.
Jonathan says the box is the perfect
place to mingle with clients away from the
workplace.
“Our business is all about building
relationships and having the executive box
definitely helps with that,” he says. “It gives
us a chance to showcase the business in a
social light while keeping it professional.
“The relationship the club staff have with
us and the service they provide are both
absolutely fantastic. They treat us like family
and we do vice-versa, while the quality of
the food is second to none. In two years of
coming here, I’ve never had a bad meal.”
Such is the lively matchday atmosphere in
a box off the Riverside Restaurant that it has
become known as party central – and it’s a
label Cornerstone Business Solutions wear
with pride.
Managing director Chris
Petty admits a few drinks
are part and parcel of the
day for Cornerstone and
their guests – but he says
their investment in the
executive box has paid for
itself many times over.
“It’s not a day for
pitching for business, of course – it’s about
entertaining,” says Chris. “But there’s been a
lot of business done in that box.
“Cornerstone is built on enjoying a first
class relationship with people, so we take
along a range of friends, potential clients and
existing clients to get to know them better.
Enjoying the football over a few drinks is a
great way to do that.”
Chris is another who says the club’s
willingness to bend over backwards is a
winning formula.
“I’ve been to a lot of stadiums and you
can’t beat the food at the Riverside – it’s
absolutely first class,” he says. “And the staff
are always willing to go out of their way to
give us the best possible experience.
“They basically help us to wow our guests.
At the end of the day, it’s memories they are
helping us to create. That goes a long, long
way when it comes to doing business with
those people.”
In the Riverside’s North-West corner is The
Middlehaven, offering guests a contemporary
grazing-style menu amid stylish, relaxed
surroundings.
Shaun Woods, airport manager at
Durham Tees Valley Airport, hosts a table of
four every matchday.
“I’ve done hospitality at Liverpool and
Manchester United but, in my view, Boro
are head and shoulders above them,” he
says. “The food is the best, while the staff
are always friendly but professional.
“The airport is working hard to raise its
profile and engage with more people –
and the football club provides the perfect
platform and relaxed environment for us to
do that.”
Ben Needham, sales director for
Billingham’s Glamal Engineering, is also
a Middlehaven regular with his firm.
“Corporate hospitality can be stuffy but
The Middlehaven suits us because it’s very
relaxed and informal,” he says.
“We have corporate tables at Chelsea
and Manchester United too, but
Middlesbrough is every bit as good – and
entertaining our clients at the Riverside
absolutely works for us.”
For more details about matchday hospitality at Middlesbrough FC in 2018-19,
please contact the club’s hospitality sales manager Liam McGuinness on 01642 352781
or [email protected]. Alternatively, please visit mfc.co.uk/hospitality.