York Stadium Management Company

“It was really important for us to enhance our offering to cater for our multi-club stadium usage. This was something Future Ticketing provided with the new ticketing platform and it helped us to use feedback directly from the clubs to ensure their expectations and needs could be fully accommodated. Future Ticketing has already shown us it is able to provide flexibility, transparency and independence for each club. Its integration with our access control partners, TeamCard, will also provide invaluable information on match day throughput and subsequent reporting that will help clubs better understand and connect with their respective fan bases to drive additional income.”

Martin Jesper, General Manager of York SMC

The York Community Stadium Leisure Complex, an 8,500-seater venue located in York, United Kingdom, serves as a hub for local sports and events. The stadium manages ticketing operations for York City Football Club, York Knights Rugby League, and York Valkyrie Rugby League. Since its inauguration in early 2021, the LNER Community Stadium has hosted over 200 events, attracting nearly 400,000 attendees. Besides fixtures for the local teams, the stadium has been a venue for significant events, including matches from the Rugby League World Cup 2021, the Rugby League Summer Bash, and friendlies featuring Leeds United, Sheffield United, and Hull City. In a recent announcement, plans were unveiled for the stadium to host matches for the Women’s Rugby Union World Cup in 2025.

The LNER Community Stadium represents a transformative development for sports and community engagement in York. It not only offers a state-of-the-art venue for professional football and rugby but also supports a variety of community sports and leisure activities. Initially, each tenant club had its own ticketing systems, leading to inefficiencies and customer frustration due to delays.

Challenge

Upon acquiring the stadium, the local council aimed to provide top-tier service to all tenants, including a streamlined ticketing solution. This included collaboration with the existing access control provider, Team Card, and the transition from a previous ticketing service provider, all to be completed within a challenging ten-week timeframe before the York Knights’ season kick-off.

Solution

Future Ticketing partnered with the stadium’s management company (SMC) to meet these requirements. They facilitated the swift onboarding of each team, ensuring that ticketing systems were integrated with Team Card. The data migration was handled securely, and the stadium’s centralised ticketing system now supports all clubs. The system provides controlled access to their 20 users, each with permissions tailored to their specific roles within their respective clubs or the SMC.