The lasting legacy of the Olympic Games is being reflected in the conference and hotel business of the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, according to its Commercial Director, Laurie Dalrymple.
Around 200,000 spectators and hospitality guests visited the venue to watch 12 matches featuring teams from 16 nations in eight days during the Olympic Football Tournament.
A peak global television audience of over three million watched Team GB’s quarter-final against Canada.
Dalrymple said London 2012 had raised the profile of the Ricoh Arena nationally and internationally and provided positive spin-offs for the rest of the business.
“The road infrastructure surrounding the Ricoh Arena was improved, which will benefit delegates attending conferences, exhibitions and events. Transport to reach the Ricoh Arena will improve even further in the autumn of 2013 after the government confirmed plans to open a train station which will be a plus when we hold major business events.
“We are investing in creating another 41 onsite bedrooms to increase our total availability to 121 when the new accommodation is opened in January 2013. We also have plans in place for further on site multi-million pound hotel developments to cope with demand as the range and number of business events here keep growing,” said Dalrymple.
The focus of the arena continues to be on providing all of the facilities business organisers need under one roof, said Darlymple.
“The rise in the number of conferences we are attracting is underlined by the fact we held 400 conferences in the first quarter of the year and we are confident this segment of our business will increase by over 20 per cent this year,” he added.
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