Sodexo Live! extends Millwall Football Club deal to overhaul stadium hospitality

Sodexo Live! has secured a contract extension with Millwall Football Club as part of a multi-million-pound transformation to the hospitality, conferencing and event services at the Den stadium in south London.

The sports and leisure caterer has provided matchday retail catering services to Millwall FC since 2012, with the partnership now expanding to refresh the Den’s premium spaces, starting this summer with the 1885 Club and Chairman’s Suite.

The Den’s hospitality offering will be elevated through creating new suites, refreshing conferencing and event packages, updating menus and adding further hospitality staff.

Hospitality spaces in the Barry Kitchener stand will be modernised, allowing the football club to offer a broader range of hospitality options on matchdays next season.

Sodexo Live! will help redesign the spaces and packages on offer, project managing the refurbishment alongside the club, with new areas paying tribute to the football club’s history.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Millwall FC’s managing director Mark Fairbrother called the partnership “more than a commercial agreement”, saying it is “a strategic decision aligned with our long-term vision for the club”.

“Investing in the infrastructure of the Den, improving the quality and variety of food and drink and enhancing the overall matchday environment are all vital parts of our commitment to delivering a better experience for all supporters,” he added.

“In Sodexo Live! we’ve found a partner who shares our ambition to deliver real quality both on and off the pitch. This is a major milestone for the club and an important step forward in creating a stadium experience we can all be proud of.”

Luke Wilson, chief commercial officer at Millwall FC, said: “The spaces have also been designed to provide high-quality conference and event facilities during the week to drive non-matchday usage and revenue. This project represents stage one of the improvements, and we are looking forward to working even closer with the team at Sodexo Live! over the coming years on further projects, to enhance the food and beverage options available across the stadium.”

Claire Morris, chief executive of Sodexo Live! UK and Ireland, added: “This next phase marks an exciting evolution in our partnership – one where we’re not only bringing our hospitality and event catering expertise but also leading the end-to-end transformation of the experience.”

In developing the new offers at the Den, the Sodexo Live! team will use its experience as culinary and hospitality partner to high-profile UK sports clubs and stadia including Nottingham Forest FC, Brighton & Hove Albion FC – where Etch owner Steven Edwards recently launched a new food concept, Fulham FC’s new Fulham Pier leisure development, Henley Royal Regatta, Ascot Racecourse and Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground.

Sodexo Live! won the Foodservice Cateys 2024 Innovation Award for its work at Brighton & Hove Albion FC, following its triumph in the 2022 awards’ Retail and Leisure Caterer of the Year category.

The caterer and its representatives are also shortlisted for several categories at the Foodservice Cateys 2025, which will take place at the Royal Lancaster London on 10 October.