The O2 & UFC added to iSportconnect Ticketing and Hospitality Masterclass!

iSportconnect logoiSportconnect, the world’s largest global private network of sports business executives, is delighted to announce Matthew Botten, Senior Director of Premium Seating at The O2 and James Elliot, Vice President and General Manager EMEA of UFC will be panellists at our Ticketing and Hospitality Masterclass.

The event will take place in London on 19th May in partnership with Sportsworld, the specialist hospitality, travel and event services company.

Elliot and Botten will be joined as panellists by:

–       Paul Fisher, Group Managing Director of The Jockey Club

–       Richard Harris, Head of Ticketing at the RFU

–       Robert Byrne, Managing Director of AXS (AEG)

James Elliott was appointed as the UFC Vice President and General Manager EMEA in 2015. Elliott joined UFC in 2013 as Senior Director of Content and was instrumental in the massive growth of the company’s broadcast and television deals throughout Europe.

Prior to joining UFC, James worked for a number of leading global sports agencies in addition to PUMA and The Football Association. His roles spanned across multiple sectors from events, marketing, broadcast and athlete management.

Matt Botten joined the AEG team in January 2007, six months before The O2 opened its doors. He has developed the premium seating strategy at the world’s number one music and entertainment venue, with responsibility for VIP club membership sales, corporate suites and the American Express Invites Lounge.  Matt manages the end-to-end premium experience including event delivery, service, account management as well as new product development and revenue and growth targets.

Under his stewardship the division has grown year-on-year, with 2016 already being a record year for VIP memberships achieving 25% growth.  A particular highlight has been the complete rebuild of the American Express Invites Lounge which Matt managed from initial concept through to the grand unveiling. Since reopening the lounge has seen a 30% uplift in food and beverage spend.

Previously Matt spent five years at Twickenham Stadium working for Twickenham Experience delivering both match day and non-match day hospitality and events and prior to that was at Wembley Stadium Limited managing all the merchandise operations. Matt sold his very first t-shirt while still at college at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Concert at Wembley in 1988.

The Masterclass itself will consist of three panels looking at a range of topics:

Panel 1 – Getting the right balance

This panel will discuss if some sports have gone too far in pricing the fans out.

Are sporting events becoming too corporate? What is the answer and how do we get the balance right?

Panel 2 – What does the modern hospitality client want?

This panel will look at what clients want from hospitality and if the industry is meeting their expectations.

What are the right hospitality tiers to offer? How do you maintain the loyalty of long standing customers while increasing the value to the business? How can a venue revise and reposition long standing hospitality facilities?

Panel 3 – Technology & the Future of Ticketing

This panel will look at what trends, innovations and technologies will deliver the next generation of live sport & entertainment ticketing solutions.

How do you balance the commercial requirements and public demand to tickets at major events? How do you balance constitutional and contractual obligations while trying to grow new data? How we can use that data – below the line use of data, intelligent use of insight – to help us to grow the ticketing business?

iSportconnect Chairman Michael Cunnah said: James and Matthew are hugely experienced and highly respected figures in the sports industry and it is a real pleasure to have them on board for the Ticketing and Hospitality Masterclass. Their expertise and knowledge of this sector will add real substance to the debates on the day.”

About Arunava Chaudhuri

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