Prior to the start of the Premier League football season this weekend, ACC Liverpool welcomed Liverpool footballer Steven Gerrard to the venue for his testimonial dinner.
BT Convention Centre, part of ACC Liverpool which is also home to Echo Arena, was transformed into a banqueting hall for around 1,000 guests, including the player’s wife Alex Gerrard, the majority of the Liverpool team and a host of celebrities.
Production was provided in-house by the ACC Liverpool team who created bespoke lighting, featuring stretched sails across the ceiling of hall two to reflect the city’s maritime history. A menu was provided by ACC Liverpool’s catering arm, Heathcotes.
The dinner and testimonial match against Olympiacos raised £1m for the Liverpool and England captain’s charity, the Steven Gerrard Foundation and a range of children’s causes will benefit. Singer Chris de Burgh and comedian John Bishop provided the entertainment.
Staying with the football theme, country house hotel Stoke Rochford Hall (SRH) in Lincolnshire recently hosted League Two side Bristol Rovers FC for a four-night pre-season training stay.
“Bristol Rovers Chief Scout, Stuart Gray, was at the Hall for a Father’s Day treat and I just happened to chat to him about football,” says SRH Leisure Club Manager, Seb Firman. “I mentioned the fantastic leisure club we have here and how great it would be as a training base. He was so taken with the facilities he took the idea back to his chairman and he loved it, so they brought 22 players and seven members of staff back for a training break.”
Following the success of the stay, Stoke Rochford Hall says it is now targeting more professional football league clubs to attract other teams to stay at the hotel.
The Gas, however, have taken only one point from their opening two league matches and exited the Capital One Cup earlier this month.
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