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Group Focus Magazine Feature, Spring 2006 - 'Ahead of the Game'

Address:	The Sports Cafe, 80 Haymarket, London SW1
Tel	020 7839 8300
Fax:	020 7839 8303
Email:	Contact by email
Website:	Visit their website

Group Focus Magazine Feature, Spring 2006 - 'Ahead of the Game' Information:

As more branches of the Sports Cafe chain pop up all over the country, Anna Longmore looks at the secrets behind the group’s continuing success.

Each site has more than 100 screens and a sound system volleying commentary from up to four different games at a time, so you’d be hard pressed to miss a moment’s action in a branch of the Sports Cafe – even if you nip to the loo. Every toilet, ladies included, is kitted out with screens. But, as the chain’s brand manager Jane White puts it: ‘Anyone can put a screen into a bar.’ Here, it’s about the atmosphere, which is arguably the closest you can get to actually being at a game.

The idea behind the chain was conceived in the late 1980s by two Canadian entrepreneurs, Bill Balkou and Brad Kinsella, who opened the world’s first Sports Cafe in Toronto in 1990. This site is still running successfully but, with the Canadian operation now franchised, the company’s attentions rest firmly on its growing UK operation. Since 1995, when the pair launched the flagship Sports Cafe in London’s West End, branches have opened in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow and Bristol.

Such a specific focus on the UK market was not part of the original plan. ‘It just worked out that way,’ admits White. But the British obsession with sport, she agrees, has been an indisputable factor in the chain’s success. With the Sports Cafe Group expanding at a rate of two venues a year, the pace is quickening, but each move is carefully considered. Every site is assessed on its local fan base and potential for a core market.

‘We talk to the local community and find out what sports they support,’ explains White. ‘For example, our Leeds branch has sponsored the Harlequins rugby league team, so people are now coming there to support the ’Quins on their away games. In London, we do a lot with American sports like basketball.’

Although the support of sports fans is of vital importance to the Sports Cafe Group, White refutes the suggestion that its branches might have an intimidating, laddish environment as a result. She estimates that around a third of its customers are female. ‘Not only is there a growing interest in sport among women but Sports Cafes offer a nice, clean, tidy environment. They have female staff as well as male staff and the venues are light and bright – very female friendly,’ she says.

Indeed, its broad appeal is yet another reason why the chain has been such a hit. ‘We’re not just a chain of sports bars. We also do a range of different events,’ says White. From early-week student and service industry party nights through to Thursday’s Wild Wing chicken wing promotion (featuring 18 different flavours) and club nights with a resident DJ at the weekend, the company has been careful to ensure punters don’t leave on the final whistle.

Then there’s the corporate business. Hospitality and corporate events now make up an estimated 60-70 per cent of the Sports Cafe Group’s overall revenue. Emma Harrington, who manages corporate events at the London site, explains its appeal to clients: ‘Companies like the laidback atmosphere and the fact that they can save money as the venue comes themed, with projectors, screens and a PA system already installed.’

White sees the venues’ flexibility as another main selling point. ‘A lot of companies book a weekly or a monthly get-together for individual teams at the Sports Cafe,’ she says. ‘They can come in and just block off a couple of pool or table football tables, knowing that they can order food and drink from the bar.

At the other end of the scale, the Flora London Marathon takes over the entire Haymarket branch on marathon day. They have lots of branding, the marathon is showing all day and there are massage tables for the runners when they finish.’ Size plays an obvious part in the flexibility of each Sports Cafe as a venue. The 565-capacity London site is relatively small compared with a giant like Manchester, which stretches to 1,750. Each venue can also be separated into distinct areas for smaller groups. In London, the space spreads over two floors, where a front bar mainly serves walk-in trade, while other areas can host a range of events.

On my visit, the 250-capacity back bar is playing host to a book launch and table football tournament, while upstairs staff are busy branding the pool room for a charity fundraiser. The separate Team Room Bar (which has a super-screen and space for 60 people) is also being set up and waitresses in cropped Sports Cafe polo shirts are on hand serving drinks. Unsurprisingly, major tournaments are the most significant dates on the Sports Cafe calendar, none more so than this summer’s Football World Cup. The company will not only be putting on a great footballing show for the corporate market but, as White explains, catering to walk-in trade as well.

‘Our DJs will be in early; we’ll be handing out score prediction cards and holding Keep It Up competitions at half time,’ she says. ‘There’ll be face-painting, raffles and charity auctions, and all the staff will be dressed up. We already have the flags of all the participating nations hanging in our venues. It’s like a festival.’

Hospitality packages will follow the model for all major events screened at the Sports Cafe: for a flat per-head cost, corporate clients get a wristband entitling them to free drinks from an hour before the game until an hour after the final whistle, as well as a finger buffet. ‘Our clients won’t have to run around trying to find a waitress, trying to get drinks at the bar, trying to sign a tab. They can concentrate on the football,’ says White. Although most of the corporate hospitality for the early England games is already sold out, more packages will be available if the team qualifies, and the venues are also expecting strong support for the Australian games.

But don’t think that this bouncing, boisterous chain will be taking much of a breather after a busy summer. The opening of an eighth site (in Cardiff) is already scheduled for the end of this year, and future prospects include Brighton, Croydon and Edinburgh. The company has also entered the online betting market with sportscafecasino.com, and is looking to roll out a new chain of bookmakers. ‘Betting shops are the future,’ predicts White. Following the successful launch of Sports Cafe Bet in Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester are next in line to acquire one of the group’s new betting offshoots. On top of that, there are also whispers of international expansion. These guys are clearly ahead of the game.

BRANCH LOCATOR

Birmingham tel: 0121 633 4000
Bristol tel: 0117 917 5520
Glasgow tel: 0141 332 8000
Leeds tel: 0113 243 2300
Liverpool tel: 0151 255 1255
London tel: 020 7839 8300
Manchester tel: 0161 839 8800
Newcastle tel: 0191 233 1325