Huddersfield Town fans who buy food and drink from bars and hospitality suites on matchdays will directly benefit the club for the first time in 20 years.
Since the John Smith’s Stadium opened in 1994, Town have never received cash from catering sales.
The money went instead to the company which runs the stadium, Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd (KSDL), and the catering company.
Disgruntled supporters – unhappy that money they spent at the stadium didn’t go to Town – shunned catering facilities with many calling in at the club’s Canalside training complex for a pre-match pint instead.
Now with French hospitality giant Sodexo Prestige having taken over the catering contract, Town chairman Dean Hoyle has negotiated a share of the pie.
Fans also felt aggrieved that for several years the club didn’t have shares in KSDL after they were transferred away by previous owner Ken Davy, chairman of Huddersfield Giants.
In 2013 the 40% share came back to Town after Mr Hoyle repaid £2 million in loans to Mr Davy.
That restored the original share ownership of KSDL with Town and Kirklees Council having 40% each and the Giants 20%.
Following negotiations a new deal with KSDL and Soxedo has been agreed and Town says “every penny” spent on food and drink on concourses and hospitality areas on matchdays or Town stadium events will bring a “real and direct cash benefit” to the club.
See pictures from Town's first league match at the stadium below.
Mr Hoyle welcomed the deal as a major step forward in making the club more sustainable for the long-term.
He said: “When I arrived as chairman in 2009, the club had no share in the John Smith’s Stadium and earned nothing directly or indirectly from the food and drink bought by supporters on its matchdays either.
“This was a very unusual situation, probably shared by only a handful of other professional clubs.
“That structure certainly has been detrimental to us and has not helped the stadium’s catering partner or KSDL either.
“It has taken a lot of time to reach this new level of partnership with a new shared direct financial interest.
“The first step was for the club to get its stadium shares back, which has subsequently led to this new deal.
“KSDL, Sodexo and the club are all set to benefit from the new way of working, that will see the matchday spend of Town fans directly benefit their club. That has to be right.
“I’m sure everyone can see the importance of this as another important step forward in making Huddersfield Town sustainable and viable.
“It also gives the club and its fans an even bigger stake in the success of the John Smith’s Stadium.”
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Fenny Greenfield, the stadium’s sales and marketing manager, said: “We have been working hard to improve the catering standards at the stadium since taking on the contract in 2014 and feel this is another positive step forward.
“We continue to collect as much data and feedback from the fans and Town staff members in order to improve and develop our menus and offerings throughout the concourse and across our hospitality, as well as our service delivery.
“Supporting the club’s matchday experience is an essential part of our business.”
