Between 2013 and 2015, Stechert installed a range of seating types at Stoke City FC’s Premier League soccer stadium – the Hamburg VIP seat, the TipUp Smart seat, as well as 36 modern bench seats for the team dugouts. Stechert has also outfitted the hospitality areas of the stadium with over 700 Lugano chairs. Stadium operators were impressed with the results, and have taken the decision to order an additional 5,000 seats from the German manufacturer.
With the change in the stadium’s naming agreement – from the Britannia Stadium to Bet365 Stadium – the layout of the East Stand must be modified. The club has ordered new Berlin tip-up seating as part of those modifications.
The Berlin, like all Stechert seats, is made in Germany and uses premium materials. In markets such as the UK, where supporters often stand and sometimes kick the backrests from behind, a lot of seat plastic backrests break easily. Stechert’s Berlin model, however, boasts a metal frame and provides extra stability.
The new seats will be installed during the summer break and will be ready for use on the first match-day of the new Premier League season.
The project to replace the stadium seating is part of a wider refurbishment program, which will see the remainder of the north, east and south sides of the stadium – including a proposed southeast corner stand – benefit from the installation of new seats in the coming years. Work will then be completed by replacing seats in the Q-railing (west) Stand in 2018.
Kay Habermaier, Stechert’s head of sales, is glad that the relationship between Stoke City FC and Stechert is constantly improving. “We are working together with a very well organized football club. They take one step after the other in a very smart way, focusing on top quality – not only in terms of seating, but in terms of how the club modernizes the whole infrastructure of the stadium. We are looking forward to setting a new level of seating in the Bet365 Stadium and the Premier League.”
June 09, 2016
