AGENDA 2026

Wednesday September 30th

Opening Night Icebreaker: Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium, including a special behind-the-scenes stadium tour, sponsored by Dawnvale and KAPPTURE/BRISK, to be followed by a drinks reception sponsored by Portview. Entry via the Main Stand, located up the podium stairs.

FYI: For those staying at the official show hotel, Malmaison Liverpool, and/or those who have requested transport, the coaches will depart at 4.20pm and 4.40pm.

Event Times: 5.00pm to 8.00pm

Venue: Anfield Stadium, Liverpool

Tour Sponsors:

Dawnvale and KAPPTURE/BRISK.

Drinks Sponsor:

Portview.

For those staying at the official show hotel, transport will depart from Anfield at 8.00pm to return you to Malmaison.

Thursday October 1st

Venue: Village Street, West Stand, Hill Dickinson Stadium, Bramley Moore Dock, Liverpool. Entry via the West Stand Reception, Gate 4.

8:00am: Village Street opens for exhibitor setup.

For those staying at the show hotel, coaches will depart from outside Malmaison between 8.10am and 8.40am.

8:25am - 8:55am: Badge collection, with coffee, tea, pastries and networking in the Exhibition Hall. Sponsored by Aramark.

9:00am: Welcome: Katie McIntyre, CEO & Founder, Sports Venue Business & SVB LIVE. Handover to our official show emcee, Peter Hopwood, Presenter & Moderator, Hopwood Story & Speaker Coaching.

9:05am: Opening Keynotes:

Colin Chong, Chief Real Estate & Regeneration Officer, Everton FC

followed by

Daniel Clark, Managing Director, Sports & Entertainment, Aramark UK.

9:35am: Levelling Up: Delivering a Next-Level Experience at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Speakers: Marc Lee, Director of Premium, Everton; Stephannie Dimelow, Director of Premium, Co-op Live / Oak View Group; Luke Harrison, Director, BDP Pattern; and Neil Fox, Venue & Operations Director, Forward Associates. Moderator: Katie McIntyre, CEO & Founder, Sports Venue Business & SVB LIVE.

10:05am: Key Projects: From New Build Stadia to Arena Developments. Speakers: Caroline James, General Manager, Utilita Arena Newcastle; Gareth Lloyd, Business Development Director, Olympia Events; Clodagh Fleming, Business Development Manager, Horse Racing Ireland; and Dermot Rigley, CEO, Prime Arena Holdings. Moderator: Peter Hopwood, Presenter & Moderator, Hopwood Story & Speaker Coaching.

10:35am: Reimagining Hospitality in Manchester City FC’s Etihad Stadium’s New North Stand. Speakers: John Berry, Managing Director and Jacob Regan, Client Manager, Dawnvale. Moderator: Denise Jones, Dawnvale.

10:55am - 11:25am: Coffee, Tea & Networking in the Exhibition Hall. Sponsored by: Aramark.

11:25am: Atmosphere as a Commercial Asset. Speakers: Jim Bell, Global Sports & Leisure Leader, Director; and Simon Jackson, Venue Consultant, Arup.

11:45am: From Queue to Connected: The Evolution of Stadium Hospitality. Speakers: Nicky Norman, Head of Production & IT, Liverpool Experience Campus; Sophie Jervis, Business Support Manager, Stadium Operations, Liverpool FC; and Ash Wilson, Tech & Innovation Lead, BUILT by Levy. Moderator: Gordon Kaye, Sales & Marketing Director, KAPPTURE.

12:05pm: Stadium Expansion: From Design and Planning to Delivery. Speakers: Peter Lamb, Savills; Darran Leaper, Design Director, Stadium Structures; and Doug Williams, Project Director, Stadium Structures.

12:25pm: Fireside chat: Robbie Balfour, VP, Brand & Marketing, The O2, AEG Europe and John Morello, VP, Business Development, Riptide Partners.

12:45pm - 1:30pm: Lunch & Networking in the Exhibition Hall. Sponsored by: Aramark.

13:30: Meaningful over marketed: How brands can move beyond branded spaces to create real life experiences that bring value. Speakers: Vicki Donlon, Head of Quality, Events & Partnerships, Diageo; Lauren Tones, UK Partnerships Director, Legends Global; and Samara Mezher, VP of Strategy, Forward Associates. Moderator: Caroline James, GM, Utilita Arena Newcastle.

13:50: How AECOM’s Stadium Designs are Changing the Game. Speaker: Dan Meis, Senior VP, Director of Global Sports Design, AECOM.

14:10: From Guesswork to Growth: Data-Led Fan Experience and F&B Revenue. A cross-industry conversation exploring how top venues, caterers and brands are using fan data to move beyond assumption to insight, to sharpen the F&B offer and unlock new revenue. Speakers: Alex Haslam, National Account Controller - Head of 3rd Space, Diageo; and Digby Vollrath, CEO & Co-Founder, Togather. Moderator: Natasha Thiebaut, CEO, Premium Thinking.

14:40: Commercial Strategy in Multi-Use Venues. Speakers: Paul Michael, Managing Director, Coventry Building Society Arena & Stadium; Marie Smyth, Head of Venue Business, Croke Park; and Rob Wicks, Managing Director, P&J Live. Moderator: Peter Hopwood, Presenter & Moderator, Hopwood Story & Speaker Coaching.

15:10: Powering Premium: The Latest Trends & Looking to the Future. Speakers: Laurence McMillon, Senior Director, Hospitality and F&B, Inter Miami CF; and Jimmy Ord, Business Development Director, Fulham FC. Moderator: John Sheehan, Editor, Sports Venue Business / SVB LIVE.

15:30: From Blueprint to Kick-off: Mobilising Everton's new home. Speakers: Daniel Clark, Managing Director, Sports & Entertainment, Aramark UK; Matt Gregoire, Food, Beverages & Experiences Director, Aramark UK; and Adam Bateman, Culinary Director, Hill Dickinson Stadium, Aramark UK.

16:00 - 16:25: Coffee, Tea & Networking in the Exhibition Hall. Sponsored by: Aramark.

16:25: Beyond the Screen: How US Stadium LED Trends Can Inspire European Venues. Speaker: Steffan Piolet, Head of Sales, Stadia & Emerging Markets, Daktronics.

16:40: The Stadium Product Mix: Revenue Touchpoints in the Stadium Ecosystem. Speakers: Joe Tromans, CRO, Worcestershire CCC; and Daniel Gidney, CEO, Lancashire CCC/Emirates Old Trafford. Moderator: Peter Hopwood, Presenter & Moderator, Hopwood Story & Speaker Coaching.

17:00: Forward Thinking: Building the Stadium for Tomorrow, Today. Speakers: Neil Fox, Venue Strategy & Operations Director, Forward Associates; Claudio Bambagioni, Architect, Forward Associates; Tom Hadfield, Architectural Illustrator; Forward Associates; and Oliver Wright, VP - Sales & Premium Hospitality, Legends Global - Europe. Moderator: Natasha Thiebaut, CEO, Premium Thinking.

17:25 - 20:25: A VIP behind-the-scenes tour of Hill Dickinson Stadium, with F&B along the way provided by Aramark.

Tour Sponsors:

Aramark; Amazon Just Walk Out; Forward Associates; KAPPTURE; and Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB).

Entertainment by:

TME / The Music Entourage.

19:50-20:20: Buses return to the official show hotel, Malmaison Liverpool.

Friday October 2nd - Village Street, West Stand, Hill Dickinson Stadium. Entry via the West Stand Reception, Gate 4.

For those staying at the show hotel, coaches will depart from outside Malmaison between 8.25am and 8.45am.

8.30-9.00am: Coffee, tea and a light breakfast in the Exhibition Hall, sponsored by Aramark.

9.00am: Delivering F&B in an Extreme Event Environment: Inside Milano Cortina 2026. Speaker: Jonas Dijan, Event Manager, Lecturer in Sport Management, JD10 CONSULTING.

9:20am: How to Build the Best Business Club in Europe. Speakers: Bjorn Poels, CCO, Bundeling; Dennis Lacasa, Team Lead Business Relations, Feyenoord Rotterdam; and Martin Savulsky Martinez, Head of Sponsorship Services, Club Atlético de Madrid.

9:55am: More Fans. More Merch. More Complexity: Inside Stadium Merchandise at Wembley Stadium. Speakers: Tom Cresswell, Senior Retail Events Manager, Fanatics, Bruce Griffin, Director, Bandstand, and Mark Ryan, Director of UK & EU, atVenu.

10:15am: Tech Talk: The Latest Concepts & Innovations Elevating the Live Experience. Speakers: Iwo Gernemann, Co-Founder, VisioLab; Chris Gore, CEO, SPOR Group; and James Kirby, Co-Founder & Head of Operations, Tixserve. Moderator: Peter Hopwood, Presenter & Moderator, Hopwood Story & Speaker Coaching.

10:35am: Putting the P in Procurement: Procurement & the Pieces of the Project Puzzle. The more complex major sports projects become, the more moving parts there are. From Michelin-star restaurants to cleaning cupboards, thousands of items have to be costed, sourced and shipped. Speakers: Claire Crosby, Head of Operational Procurement, Everton Football Club; and Tom Roche, Director, UK & Europe, The Parker Company. Moderator: John Sheehan, Editor, Sports Venue Business (SVB).

11:05-11:35am: Coffee, Tea & Networking in the Exhibition Hall. Sponsored by: Aramark.

11:35am: Drawing People Together through Post-Disciplinary Design: Fireside chat with Tom Jones, Senior Principal, Populous. Moderator: Peter Hopwood, Presenter & Moderator, Hopwood Story & Speaker Coaching.

11:55am: Enhancing the Fan Experience. Speakers: Jon Lee, Executive Creative Director, 20.20 Ltd; and Sian Morse, Sales & Marketing Manager, Utilita Arena Cardiff / Live Nation Entertainment. Moderator: John Sheehan, Editor, Sports Venue Business (SVB).

12:25pm: Redefining Stadium Hospitality Through Operational Design. Speakers: Paul Reeves, CRO, Huddersfield Town; and Will Mayes, Founder & CEO, Layrd Design. Moderator: Katie McIntyre, CEO, Sports Venue Business / SVB LIVE.

12:45pm: The 15 Minute Problem. Mashgin builds computer-vision checkout for stadia & arenas, which means it spends its time measuring how long a transaction actually takes. This session uses that data to examine a constraint event venue shares: a fifteen minute selling window. What the queue costs in fan experience and unrecorded sales, and how to measure it at your venue. Speakers: Brandon Scott, GM, Enterprise Commerce and VP of Sales, Mashgin; and Megan Wiethoff, Director of Strategy & Business Operations, Mashgin.

13:15-14:15: Lunch & Networking in the Exhibition Hall. Sponsored by Aramark.

14:15-15:15: Closing Drinks and the announcement of the 2027 SVB LIVE Conference & Exhibition host venue and dates, plus details on the 2027 SVB LIVE Awards.

Event closes…see you at another SVB LIVE event soon!

(Please note, this draft agenda is subject to change)