UKVMA

VENUE NEWS: StadiumMK wins FL Family Excellence Award; Whitewater Centre staff hit gold

MK Dons have been awarded ‘The Football League Family Excellence Award’ for the 2015/16 season. Created in 2007, the Award recognises the outstanding experience provided by clubs for young fans and families as part of a scheme that won the Gold Award at the European Professional Football Leagues’ Best Practice Awards.

Impressively, the Club are one of only six to have secured the Award every year they have been eligible to receive it.

A total of 44 clubs from across all three divisions of The Football League have been given the Award for 2016, with a significant increase in the benchmark standard being applied by the judging panel.

More than ever this year, Football League clubs are providing families with engaging family areas and offering innovative matchday entertainment that delivers a money can’t buy experience for young fans.

With an increase in the number of juniors and families now attending matches around the country this is both testament to clubs’ work to attract them, and an indication of the challenge and importance of retaining them for generations to come.

In achieving the award, the Dons have been recognised as offering superb entertainment for families at stadiummk throughout the 2015/16 season, engaging with young fans and families through such initiatives as the Under-12s go FREE Season Ticket campaign, Family Fun Days and Feed the Fans.

In announcing the successful clubs, Football League Chief Executive, Shaun Harvey, said:

The Football League Family Excellence Award continues to provide Clubs with a standard to aspire to. The objective of the Award is to recognise those Clubs who have successfully attracted more families and young fans to matches.

Innovation is at the heart of Clubs’ success and our partnership with both Channel 5 & Nickelodeon (Nick Kicks) is part of our central contribution in supporting Clubs’ work in this important area by increasing the profile of our games among the next generation of fans.

The Award recipients are decided by an independent assessment using real families that has been commissioned by The Football League, at all 72 League clubs, during the 2015/16 season.

Lee Valley White Water Centre staff strike rafting gold

Staff at Lee Valley White Water Centre have struck gold in a European rafting championship. The ladies team, which included Lee Valley White Water Centre’s Commercial Manager, Fieke Reijntjes, helped the Great Britain Open Women’s team to win gold in the International Rafting Federation (IRF) European Rafting Championships last week.

The ladies team were declared overall champions in their category and came away with three gold medals in three of the races plus a fourth gold medal overall for winning the championships at the end of the week.

Meantime, the Great Britain Open Men’s team too, excelled with a gold medal in the Head to Head race, won by their team, which included the Centre’s General Manager Paskell Blackwell. The men’s team, which finished 7^th overall, also included Lee Valley White Water Centre’s Senior Kayak Instructor Dan Daley and raft guide Chris Coward.

Paskell Blackwell congratulated both teams for their performance:

We all did really well, but the ladies team in particular were quite exceptional, winning gold in three out of four races and scooping an overall gold.

Congratulations go to both the teams who worked so hard to win.

UK VENUE PROFILE: Lee Valley White Water Centre

Every day is a big event day at a venue like Lee Valley White Water Centre. General Manager Paskell Blackwell and his team welcome a steady flow of guests on all seven days of the week. These paddlers, rafters, diners and walkers all need to be kept safe and looked after during their stay. After all, there are 13,000 litres of water per second powering through the site. The flow could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in a little over three minutes.

The white water course and the terrace overlooking the course start. Practice lake.

These visitors pay for white water packages, food and drink and merchandise. An occasional televised canoeing competition raises the centre’s profile but it’s the daily visits and income that enable the venue’s operator Vibrant Partnerships to keep it solvent.

This world class centre has 25 acres of landscaping and car parks, an all-round security fence, a 330 metre Olympic course, a lake the size of two football pitches, boats, rafts, gates, blocks, hotel-level finishes, lockers and bathrooms.

Rafting for the people

Rafting is undoubtedly exciting and fun – take this writer’s word for it. It also looks a bit daunting. “The guides are key to matching the level of excitement with the participants’ appetite for it,” explains Blackwell.

Safety briefing from raft guide.

The raft guides – professionals, some also athletes in training, with qualifications and experience to match – engage with customers to understand what they are enjoying, or not. It’s an itinerant profession, with guides moving between southern and northern hemispheres to match demand and Vibrant Partnerships trains apprentice raft guides from among the local population.

It all starts with safety. The guides provide an equipment briefing and show how to be safe in and out of the rafts. After that, it’s fun all the way and plenty to talk about in the café afterwards, together with digital action photos to take away.

Rafting course.

Back in the cafe and on the terrace to share stories and photos.

Customer engagement

“Vibrant is a new company finding out how it wants to do things but the name tells you we want to make our venues exciting for customers,” states Blackwell.

The centre remains open all year round, serving walkers and cyclists using the Lee Valley Country Park. Blackwell concedes that this is not profitable business in itself but is an important part of keeping the centre at the heart of its community: “Getting people on site is important, especially to get families and young people to experience what we have to offer.”

Breaking down barriers to encourage people to visit is a constant part of the centre’s marketing initiatives, for example family rafting and March Mayhem discounts.

Weekends tend to be booked up so the centre encourages students and schools during the week and is also focussed on getting corporate customers on weekdays. The centre hosts an annual schools festival when thousands of children from across London, Essex and Hertfordshire experience white water rafting.

“We are available to host big events and support British Canoeing’s bids, but we need frequent attractions so we are also inventing our own. We’ll have outdoor cinema and Free summer activities and games during the school holidays at the pavilion in the park on the white water course side,” explains Blackwell.

Venue development

In 2014 Lee Valley White Water Centre spent £6.3 million to extend the main building with the Terrace Bar & Café, including a huge decked terrace which extends to the edge of the white water course. The café hosts live entertainment in the evenings.

A ground floor extension was also built to incorporate British Canoeing’s High Performance Centre which is the base for the British Canoe Slalom squad and all UK Sport funded Podium athletes. The budget also paid for a separate pavilion with café and terrace, adding to the hire options Vibrant Partnerships can offer to customers.

The original building built for the London Olympics in 2012 has performed well. Green credentials include grey water recycling, solar panels and a heat recovery system. Energy use is equivalent to a large leisure centre.

Lee Valley White Water Centre – by the numbers

2012 London Olympics – 82 athletes, 55,000 spectators
2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup – 300 athletes
2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
2011-2016 – more than 600,000 visitors, including more than 100,000 rafters and more than 50,000 canoeists

VENUE NEWS: Gloucester Rugby’s new owner’s goal is to fill stadium every week; Lee Valley Hockey Centre steps in to host Champions Trophy

Martin St Quinton has become sole owner of Premiership club Gloucester Rugby Football Club after buying the Walkinshaw family’s share.

Club vice chairman and businessman St Quinton bought a 25% stake in the owners of Kingsholm Stadium in 2008, and later purchased a further 15%.

St Quentin told the BBC:

My goal will be to fill the stadium every week, if you can fill the stadium every week you can have a fantastic atmosphere here at Kingsholm, and you’re only going to fill the stadium if you’re playing attractive rugby and you’re winning.

If you can fill the stadium that’s the prerequisite to really developing a fantastic club.

At that point you can afford the very best players, the very best coaches, you can develop the stadium, increase the capacity and you’ve got great momentum.

Hockey Centre to host Champions Trophy

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will host the men’s Hockey Champions Trophy 10-17 June 2016. The event will precede the women’s Hockey Champions Trophy, 18-26 June, where the Great Britain team also feature. Both events form part of UK Sport’s #EveryRoadtoRio series of events in the UK in 2016.

The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in Argentina but, after the cancellation of the contract between the International Hockey Federation (FIH and the Confederación Argentina de Hockey (CAH), England Hockey has stepped in as hosts. FIH CEO Kelly Fairweather said:

Following the hugely successful 2012 Olympic Games and more recently the Unibet EuroHockey Championships held in this venue, we know that England Hockey and all of their partners will truly embrace the FIH Hockey Revolution’s vision of creating innovative and exciting events for our fans. This is key to our aim of making hockey a global game that inspires the next generation.

Cardiff City Stadium record crowd

Cardiff City Stadium hosted a record crowd of 28,680 on 2 April, more than 15,000 more than the previous home game.

PEOPLE: Paskell Blackwell is new General Manager of Lee Valley White Water Centre

Blackwell has been at the Hertfordshire venue as Assistant Venue Manager for five years, having joined ahead of its opening in 2010. He oversees the water activities and programmes at Lee Valley White Water Centre, which have had more than 600,000 people take part in since opening in April 2011.

He has more than ten years’ experience in the water sports industry and worked during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Canoe Slalom event, where he was in charge of the Safety Teams.

Blackwell said:

I am looking forward to my new role and the new season at the centre with Team GB preparing here for the Rio Games this year. I am keen to drive the legacy of the centre forward to provide a high level water sports centre for all to enjoy for many years to come.

Alan Butler, Vibrant Partnerships’ Director of Venues said:

We are delighted to have Pas on board. He has many years of experience and will make a great addition to the excellent management of our venues that we already have.

Competitor manager

Prior to joining Lee Valley White Water Centre, Blackwell was based at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham, having moved there because of his love for kayaking. In 2007, he became a member of the British Freestyle Kayak squad and headed out to the World Championships in Canada.

He then worked as the Head Guide for a private rafting company at the National Water Sports Centre, before becoming its Head Raft Guide and Site Duty Manager in 2009.

He has been competing for the British Rafting Team for over ten years, eight of those as captain. During that time the team has risen from 15^th in the world rankings to 3^rd and won their first gold medal at the world championships in Bosnia in 2009.

Pas Blackwell, new General Manager at Lee Valley White Water Centre. Lee Valley White Water Centre is one of 14 sports, entertainment and leisure venues managed by Vibrant Partnerships on behalf of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

VENUE NEWS: AJ Bell Stadium setting for World Rugby U20s in 2016; Lee Valley using gift vouchers to encourage venue use

AJ Bell Stadium will be the setting for the World Rugby U20 Championship 2016. Hosted by the RFU, the tournament will take place throughout June 2016. Each year it is contested by 12 national teams at under-20 level, showcasing future stars of rugby union. It was first introduced in 2008, when it was known as the Junior World Championship and since then Wales, Japan, Argentina, Italy, South Africa, France and New Zealand have all played host. England are the current title holders, having won the trophy in back-to-back tournaments in 2013 and 2014, so it is a great honour for AJ Bell Stadium to be able to host the 2016 competition.

World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said:

The U20 Championship in England next year will be another excellent opportunity for the future stars of world rugby to showcase their skills on the world stage, following what’s shaping up to be a record-breaking Rugby World Cup. Manchester will provide an excellent base for the world’s top U20 teams, and it’s a great opportunity to bring a top class rugby event to the city and grow the game even further in the region.

Manchester City’s 7,000 seat Academy Stadium will also be hosting.

Neil Fairlamb, Manchester City Council Head of Sport, said:

The announcement that the World Rugby U20 Championship will take place in Manchester is fantastic news and once again demonstrates the city’s commitment to the sport. It will also allow us to build on the interest created by hosting a 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Councillor Ann-Marie Humphreys, Assistant Mayor for Culture and Sport at Salford City Council, added:

This tournament will give the chance to showcase the world-class sporting event facilities we have on offer in Salford. It promises to be a great championship and the people of Salford will extend a very warm welcome to the players and all those who attend.

Festive gift ideas at Lee Valley

Lee Valley is offering gift vouchers for sports enthusiasts who want to experience the London 2012 Legacy venues.

Lee Valley White Water Centre

A White Water Raft Adventure Voucher costs £65. Alternatively, a White Water Activity Voucher for Two for £100 can be redeemed against Hydrospeeding or a Hot Dog session for two. There are also £6 or £10 paddling vouchers which are great for experienced paddlers as well as beginners.

Lee Valley VeloPark

One hour taster sessions are perfect for all riders that want to experience this world class venue. BMX, road or mountain bike gift vouchers cost £15 and for £35 gets a go on the track inside the velodrome.The Lee Valley VeloPark Experience voucher for £60 buys two cycling disciplines in one day.

PEOPLE: Harrow councillor to lead Lee Valley Regional Park Authority

Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, which runs the 10,000 acre Lee Valley Regional Park that follows the River Lee from Ware in Hertfordshire to East India Dock Basin by the Thames, has appointed a new Chairman.

Paul Osborn will lead the organisation which owns three London 2012 venues – Lee Valley VeloPark and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and Lee Valley White Water Centre in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire – as well as a string of award winning sports and leisure visitor destinations, nature reserves, gardens, heritage sites and riverside trails.

Paul, a London Borough of Harrow councillor, has been Vice-Chairman of the Authority since July 2009. He said:

It’s an enormous honour to be appointed Chairman of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Since its creation back in the 1960s, we have transformed thousands of acres of neglected land and industrial sites into a hugely popular visitor destination with six million visits a year.

The Authority is playing a major role delivering a legacy from the London 2012 Games and is entering an exciting new chapter as we hand over the day-to-day operations of 14 of our venues to Vibrant Partnerships.

Paul takes over from Derrick Ashley, who will now serve as Vice-Chairman. Derrick has been a Member of the Authority since January 2006 and is a Hertfordshire County Council councillor. Paul is the first Chairman from a London borough since 2002.

Paul thanked Derrick for the contribution he has made to the Authority during his six years as Chairman and said:

Derrick has steered the organisation through key moments, in particular, ensuring legacy was at the heart of the London 2012 venues that the Authority owns – Lee Valley White Water Centre, Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre and Lee Valley VeloPark. These are now all open to the public and are hugely popular with visitors, blending sessions for first timers, major events and regular use by elite athletes.

Derrick was also heavily involved in the restoration of Myddelton House Gardens in Enfield, through a two year Heritage Lottery Fund project and now has a very popular Visitor Centre and museum.

Paul was born and went to school in the London Borough of Ealing and studied Politics and International Relations at the University of Southampton. He worked for a number of years in the IT sector in the City of London.

Paul is the Vice Chairman of Conservative Way Forward and the Director of Strategy for the Young Britons’ Foundation. He also serves as a school governor for two schools in Harrow.

Paul Osborn, Chairman of Lee Valley Regional Park. Photographed at the velodrome at Lee Valley VeloPark. August 18, 2015. Photo: Eleanor Bentall Tel: 07768 377413

VENUES: New operator adds vibrancy to Lee Valley visitor destinations

Chair Del Goddard and Managing Director Kulvinder Sihota toast the launch of Vibrant Partnerships.

Vibrant Partnerships, “an innovation-led sports, entertainment and leisure operating company” was launched last Wednesday at the London 2012 canoe slalom venue, Lee Valley White Water Centre. Vibrant says that it will bring a versatile approach to managing unique and diverse visitor destinations, aiming to create the ultimate experience and exceptional days out for all the family.

The company’s first client is Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, the owners of Lee Valley VeloPark and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Lee Valley White Water Centre in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire.

Vibrant Partnerships operate these world class London 2012 legacy venues on the Authority’s behalf as well as 11 of their popular visitor destinations including three camping and caravan parks, an athletics centre, golf course, ice rink, visitor farm, riding school and livery stables and two marinas.

Del Goddard, Chair of Vibrant Partnerships said:

These are very exciting times and we are up for the challenge of creating busy and buzzing visitor destinations.

We chose the name ‘Vibrant’ because it encapsulates what we are about and what we aim to achieve. ‘Partnerships’ is also a key part of our name. We manage a diverse portfolio of sport, entertainment and leisure offers which attracted two million visits last year. We want to build on this and we will do this by listening to our partners – customers, staff, business partners, suppliers. We can then improve our products or introduce new offers, so that visitors will want to come back again and again.

Kulvinder Sihota, Managing Director of Vibrant Partnerships said:

We aim to be a company that thrives on creativity and innovation in that we will take a venue and look beyond what’s in front of us. For example, the velodrome at Lee Valley VeloPark has proved that it isn’t just about cycling as we have hosted major exhibitions, silver service dining and awards evenings.

We always look for opportunities to improve our service, products and venues because of our firm belief that meeting customer expectations is not enough; we want to exceed them.

We have big ambitions and that’s because we think big. Lee Valley Regional Park Authority is our first client and our aim is to make it the first of many.

Vibrant Partnerships is led by a board of Trustees consisting of members from a range of industries, from law and sports to regeneration and marketing.

The company has a three-year contract to run the following venues on behalf of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority:

Lee Valley White Water Centre

The only purpose built London 2012 venue that the public could enjoy ahead of the Games and the first to open afterwards, Lee Valley White Water Centre offers a range of activities including rafting, canoeing, kayaking, hydrospeeding and hot dog sessions as well as packages for special occasions including birthdays and stag/hen dos.

Lee Valley VeloPark

Located on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Lee Valley Velopark, with the iconic velodrome at its heart, was the first to offer the four cycling disciplines in one place: track, BMX, mountain bike and road.

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre

Located on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on the site of Eton Manor, where the London 2012 wheelchair tennis event was held, Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre offers coached sessions and hire opportunities in both sports.

Lee Valley Athletics Centre

Situated in Picketts Lock, Enfield, Lee Valley Athletics Centre is the largest indoor (200m) and outdoor athletics venue in the south of England and offers of wide choice of track and field training and competitions.

Lee Valley Ice Centre

With its international competition sized ice pad, Lee Valley Ice Centre is a popular venue for ice skating and ice hockey training and competitions.

Lee Valley Riding Centre

This British Horse Society-approved centre offers riding lessons for all abilities and offers superb equestrian facilities including 5* livery services.

Lee Valley Golf Course

An urban oasis in north London, Lee Valley Golf Course is a well-kept 18-hole par 67 course that offers some of the best fast-running greens in London.

Lee Valley Park Farms

This popular 350 hectare farm offers animal attractions, from traditional farm animals to exotic breeds such as meerkat and reindeer and themed play areas.

Lee Valley Camping and Caravan Park, Edmonton

Lee Valley Campsite, Sewardstone

Lee Valley Caravan Park, Dobbs Weir

These popular camping and caravan sites are in tranquil locations with a countryside feel yet within easy reach of central London and offer a range of touring and tent pitches, holiday homes, pre-pitched glamping tents and wooden cabins.

Lee Valley Marinas, Stanstead Abbotts

Lee Valley Marinas, Springfield

These two well-used facilities offer moorings and a range of services including chandlery, refuelling and repairs as well as managing boat sales.

WaterWorks Centre

Located on Lea Bridge Road, Leyton and a pleasant walk or cycle ride from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the WaterWorks Centre offers great hire space for occasions from birthdays to art exhibitions plus offers a café and is the gateway to award winning green spaces including a nature reserve and marshes.

VENUES: Lee Valley hockey; Ricoh Arena video gaming weekend

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre will be expanded to increase capacity for this August’s EuroHockey Championships. England Hockey and The European Hockey Federation have announced a sell-out and a decision to expand to offer more tickets.

England Hockey’s Commercial Director Jonathan Cockcroft commented:

We’re delighted to have seen such high demand for what promises to be the biggest hockey event ever hosted in this country outside of the Olympics.

Hockey offers an extremely appealing day out for families, hockey fans and general sports fans alike, and we have every confidence that we will continue to see such demand for tickets to this event and indeed other events at our new Olympic legacy stadium. It’s fantastic for hockey as a sport that we have a venue on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and that we’re able to increase its capacity as interest grows in our events.

Angus Kirkland, Director General of the EHF added

Following the hugely successful, fan-centric EuroHockey Championships in Belgium in 2013, with a packed stadium, it was essential for us that this trend was continued in 2015. It is a real credit to England Hockey that they have successfully created such a demand for tickets that we can now grow the capacity of the ground in the firm knowledge that more fans will come and enjoy what will be a fantastic event on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Ricoh Arena taps into competitive video gaming

Gaming lovers from all over the world flocked to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena at the Easter weekend for Insomnia54, the latest instalment of the UK’s biggest gaming festival.

Justine Hewitt, stadium manager at the Ricoh Arena, said:

Insomnia Gaming Festival’s success at the Ricoh Arena is another example of how the venue can adapt to suit almost any event.

Lee Valley Regional Park Authority is letting rooms in the London Olympic Velodrome

The rooms to be let are part of a suite of rooms and are suited for a variety purposes such as sports injury or preventative treatment, wellbeing and other therapies. Both rooms directly accessed off a communal waiting area are self-contained with treatment bench, toilets and wash hand basin.

Interested parties should contact Stephen Roberts, Property Manager, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority on 01992 709814. sroberts@leevalleypark.org.uk

The areas of each of the rooms are:

Room 1: 19 sq.m (204sq.ft)
Room 2: 29 sq.m (313sq.ft)

The Olympic Velodrome and the surrounding Lee Valley VeloPark is owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. The Authority opened the building to the public in April 2014.

The venue now offers four cycling disciplines; track, BMX, road and mountain biking.

Visitors to the centre are currently in the region of 50,000 per month, and this is anticipated to grow as more events and cycling opportunities are programmed for the future.

OLYMPIC LEGACY VENUES: Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre

The Investec London Cup is currently taking place at the brand new venue for top-flight hockey in England – the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Over the next few years, the Centre will play host to some of hockey’s top international tournaments. England Hockey recently won the bid to host the Women’s World Cup in 2018 and the EuroHockey Championships were already secured for August 2015. Sports stars and youngsters opened this latest London 2012 venue to launch in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in mid June.

Local schools including Chobham Academy, University of East London’s tennis club, East London and Waltham Forest hockey clubs and the east London based FRE Flyers community group were among the first to test out the new facilities which feature striking blue tennis courts of the same standard as those used in the US Open and two floodlit, international competition standard hockey pitches with a stunning Union Jack design.

Shaun Dawson, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority Chief Executive said:

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre provides top class facilities for the next generation of hockey and tennis champions – the stars of tomorrow will be discovered here.

Our programme puts these high quality courts and pitches within reach of players of all standards, from complete beginners to international athletes.