Emerald Headingley Stadium & Sodexo Serve Up 1st Class Experience in £100 Million Partnership

The Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) and Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletics (LCF&A) have awarded a 15-year contract to Sodexo, a leading global services company, worth over £100 million in total turnover.

The contract will see Sodexo build on its eight-year partnership with YCCC and LCF&A to provide world class hospitality and public catering at the Emerald Headingley Stadium- home of Yorkshire Cricket and Leeds Rhinos.

A full-time team of 14 and more than 1,000 temporary staff will provide catering and hospitality services for all matches at the stadium including Super League, this summer’s Ashes series, the ICC Cricket World Cup and the new competition “The Hundred” from 2020.

Emerald Headingley Stadium has completed a £40-million refurbishment and now offers some of the best venue facilities in the UK including the new Emerald Suite comprising a 450-person lounge overlooking both the cricket and rugby pitches. The new corporate boxes, the Director’s Lounge and the Emerald Suite have all benefitted from a high specification fit out.

Sodexo has also won the contract for non-match day sales to help drive additional revenue for the stadium, drawing on its expertise in the sports and leisure sector.

Andy Dawson, YCCC’s Commercial Director, said: “It is our ambition to provide a best in-class experience for our members, spectators and corporate guests and to achieve this we need to offer variety of food options which offer excellent value for money. We are proud of our long-standing relationship with Sodexo and with their skilled team on board and Emerald Headingley Stadium Event’s award-winning chefs in place; we will deliver a memorable food experience for all.”                                        

Rob Oates, Leeds Rhinos Commercial Director, said: “We are delighted with the new partnership with Sodexo. Over the last eight years we have developed a great working partnership, so to extend this further is fantastic news and will enable us to go to the next level of hospitality and events. Sodexo is a company with huge expertise and reach and have great people working in the organisation and that’s what we bought into. We are thrilled with the new facilities which are truly world class, anyone who has seen them will, I’m sure, consider them to be first choice when booking hospitality or events.”

Nick Byrom, Sodexo Sports & Leisure Business Development Director, said: “We are thrilled to announce our long-term partnership with the iconic Emerald Headingley Stadium. Sodexo will significantly invest in the public and executive facilities at the ground to improve speed of service and further enhance the customer experience. Sodexo will also be a major sponsor of Yorkshire Cricket and Leeds Rhinos until 2034 to demonstrate our long-term investment strategy in sport.”

Chris Bray, CEO, Sports & Leisure for Sodexo UK & Ireland, said: “We are delighted to extend our relationship with Emerald Headingley Stadium.  It is one of the leading sporting and events venues in the UK we are looking forward to working closely with YCCC and LCF&A to deliver memorable catering and event experiences whilst working with local suppliers and supporting the local community.”