Top tips for the new football season

Get ready for an extra night of football fun

On the day itself, it is likely that there will not only be the standard football crowd heading up to the pub for the match, they will be joined by the sport enthusiasts among the after-work crowd. Rather than thinking about heading home for dinner at around 7pm, a lot of those after-work drinkers will now be looking to take a place at a table for the football.

This means it is a chance to capitalise on football. Some 80% of those who have had a drink while watching sport in a pub have also purchased food. That means the kitchen needs to be ready for both the pre-match scramble to order food and the half-time rush.

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Staff-time pep talk: 5 top tips on building a winning bar team

Making sure everyone in your team knows what’s happening — and when — is vital when it comes to keeping staff engaged with customers, according to Jane White, operations director at Publican Awards 2016 winners Sports Bar and Grill. “It’s easy when you can say ‘Oh, it’s the Champions League tonight, we’ve got Manchester City playing’ but when it’s golf or tennis staff also need to know who’s playing,” she says. “We do team briefs on a daily basis so staff get to know the sport.” Regular training sessions, meetings and memos can all ensure staff are on the ball and a quick quiz on what’s coming up will also help keep the team up-to-date.

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Creating an award-winning sports offer

If you’re a dedicated sports venue or a pub that shows sport as a major part of its offer, you have to look after your regular, loyal customers.

We always make sure we have plenty of staff on. I believe we were the first pub in the country to have TVs in the toilets. We found that it really diminishes the half-time rush as people were previously waiting until then to pay a visit and we’d miss out on bar sales.

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Becoming the fans' venue of choice

While having the right furniture and layout to maximise sport is essential, licensees still need to ensure that their premises are tidy and inviting. “Sometimes just new barstools will do it. If they are all ripped and worn it is not a great first impression,” Huband says.

“People are often scared to refurbish because of the price, but it can transform your pub into something that looks ready for sport. The pubs that do immediately see a sustained uplift in sales.”

And if you are building your business on your sporting credentials, then maybe utilise that theme in the look of your outlet. The venues of US-style sports chain Bar Sport are decorated throughout with authentic sports memorabilia, from original promotional posters to title-fight boxing gloves and autographed kit.

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8 top tips on AV setup for sports pubs

A matrix can allow for multiple sources linked to multiple HD screens. Bar staff can then select which source plays through which screen centrally at the bar without having to change the channel with a remote. “It’s important that your screens have the right quality to show graphics, details and more importantly movement,” Wilson says.

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How do you solve the problem of showing every sport in your pub?

With so much live sport on Sky, Holian ensures the Claddagh Ring makes the most of its multiple viewing cards to ensure it can cater for all customers’ needs. 

“If a customer comes in and asks for something to be shown, even if they are the only customer that wants to see it, we’ll make sure we put it on at least one of the screens."

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