Rangers FC profits by tackling catering

Soccer fans should be treated as football club directors would wish to be treated, the UK's first ever seminar on football catering heard last week.

Peter Kingstone, head of catering at Glasgow Rangers Football Club, said that only by treating fans as customers would clubs see any rise in profit from their food operations.

Mr Kingstone was addressing representatives of more than 60 football clubs at the seminar, which was organised by the Football Association's FC magazine to explore the potential for profit from stadium catering.

He stressed the value of investing in good catering facilities, saying that clubs of all sizes would soon see a good return on investment.

When the club's current owner, David Murray, purchased Rangers six years ago, its income from catering was £57,000 a year from rental of fast food outlets. Food on offer consisted of Scotch pies, chocolate and crisps, with cardboard boxes being used both as trays and to collect money from customers.

"We've spent £1.75m on catering equipment over five years. Our catering income last year, including the corporate hospitality and restaurant, was £3.1m, so we've demonstrated that there is a return to be made on investment," he said.

The stadium increased the number of fast food outlets in the original concourse from 23 to 32, opened a new food court, and later developed its corporate hospitality, restaurant and night club.

Mr Kingstone added that although Rangers was a comparatively rich club, all clubs should be able to offer good quality, atmosphere and choice of product to customers.

"Football is now in the leisure and entertainment industry, and people expect the kind of service they get when they go out for other forms of entertainment," he said.