Fulham FC Case Study

VISION:

Since 2010, Martin Jennings, Senior Vice President, Global Planning has managed the plans to expand Craven Cottage. In 2018 Martin came on board the Legends International team and took over the project management and business planning when proposals to rebuild the Riverside Stand commenced.    

 

PROJECT:

Legends International’s role includes both project management and business planning, where they advise the Club on their premium seating inventory, following a detailed market research process of Fulham’s existing fans as well as potential new users and buyers on both a match day and non-match day.  

The Riverside Stand project is complex:  

  • The expansion builds out into the River Thames, requiring licences to build in the river and very detailed assessments of the environmental impact and impact on river users  
  • The Club plan to remain at the stadium during the works, requiring very detailed planning of temporary facilities for match day operations and transition as the construction site changes through the build process  
  • Due to the tight site area, land in the adjacent public park is required for construction purposes and a large proportion of the materials for the build have to be shipped in by river  
  • The stand is dual-use, with all areas activated on non-match days as well as match days.  We facilitated the process to define the non-match day uses for the Club, which includes residential and recreational uses driven by an ambition to create a vibrant destination for the community and visitors from further afield  

 

RESULTS:

Utilising the Legends International’s project management and business planning models has resulted in changes to the design to maximise revenue, both on match days and non-match days. Seating locations have been revised based on the recommendations to optimise revenues, through creating a hierarchy of innovative premium levels in the building with smooth journeys to the best seats in the stand.  This was done through an iterative process of collaboration with the Club and the Architect to ensure the club’s overall return on investment parameters were achieved.  The project commenced construction in 2019 and is planned to complete in 2021. 

See also: Project Development