PA Life’s FAM Trip at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham

September 3rd was an exciting day for our Club members who joined PA Life’s FAM Trip to at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. The stadium was renamed at the start of this month following a partnership agreement with the Rugby Football Union and the insurance provider. 

Our day kicked off at 11am, but we had been invited to make the plush East Wing premier hospitality area our morning office, should we want to arrive earlier. That was very considerate of the venue team and gave us a chance to attend to emails ahead of the event.

After the greet and meet with our hosts, Vincent Coles and Keelan Wells, Business Development Managers, and a warm welcome announcement by Johanna Byrane, Head of Business Development (non-match days), we set off on a tour of this vast venue.

Tour of the versatile event spaces at Allianz Stadium

We covered a good number of the 34 different events spaces located across different sides and floors of the stadium. The spaces are hugely versatile and vary from very high end private dining rooms, such as The President’s Suite, that plays host to royalty and VIPs on match days. This impressive room has a views of the pitch and wonderful old paintings covering the walls that bring the stadium’s historic past to live. The suite is perfect for a formal dinner and also works well as a meeting space, guaranteed to impress any client.

There are also great informal spaces available, such as the stadium’s own rugby pub, The Union Ale House, situated on level 1 of the East Stand. The space has the ultimate pub vibe and is an ideal location for informal celebrations, post conference drink receptions and Christmas parties. The walls, throughout all the hospitality areas are covered with amazing rugby memorabilia, from photos, paintings and old kit as you’d expect. We spotted the 2003 England World’ Cup winning team shirt, signed by the whole team with a team photo to accompany it.

Another great space for more informal gatherings is the British Airways Rose Garden on level five in the East Stand. It was easy to see how this roof terrace, an all-weather covered space, becomes a fun and lively host to post conference socials, lunches or team celebrations. It accommodates up to 550 people and offers menus based around a street food concept using the built in stone baked fired pizza oven and rotisserie.

It was great to be able to see the players’ changing room with some of the famous shirts hanging by the lockers, waiting for action. And a walk through the ‘tunnel’ into the pitch was an unique experience. We also got to test a few seats, the well padded premium seats stand out against the other four categories, but the pitch views are fantastic where ever you sit you’d be pleased to know.

Our tour also took in the stadium’s largest venue, The Rose Suite, situated on the ground floor of the South Stand. The suite features a retractable partition wall which separates the space into Rose 1 and Rose 2. It can accommodate large dinners fro up to 800 people and also makes a great conference or exhibition space.

We finished our tour via The Lock No. 4, another stunning premium event space with clear views of the famous pitch and views towards central London. The facility benefits from a large spacious bar allowing ample space for pre-dinner drinks and is ideal for mid-sized meetings, gala dinners, awards and Christmas parties. Padded posts with plaques placed at the height of different players.

Before we headed back to the East Wing, we had a chance to peek in to a few Executive Boxes, which you can hire to experience the most exclusive Rugby Hospitality. The boxes come in different sizes and cater from 10 up to 20 people.  where you can enjoy unrivalled views from the only pitch-viewing facilities at the Stadium. You can hire these to host clients or colleagues with fully flexible hospitality options, from a champagne reception with silver service through to informal buffets with beer and everything in between. All delivered with the electric environment of top class events on Twickenham’s hallowed turf as your backdrop.

Lunch at the East Wing premier hospitality space

A delicious lunch of beautifully presented burgers, fish goujons & chips and salads awaited us when we arrived back at the East Wing. The East Wing is vast area, stretching almost a whole side of a stadium, with a capacity of 1000. However, it’s cleverly designed into zones and dining areas, with lovely wood and painted panelling on the walls, creating it a warm and welcoming private members’ club atmosphere.

After the lunch, it was time for the final part of our day. Alistair Turner, Managing Director, EI8HT PR & Marketing facilitated a very interesting and lively round-table discussion on event organising from a PA’s perspective. Our Club members we great, and willing participants, covering Christmas parties and the change in attitudes and expectations for inclusive events, especially when it comes to non-alcohol / low-alcohol gatherings. We also touched on the important role of the venue in ensuring your event is a success and you, as the PA behind the organisation, gets to enjoy it too.

More about the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham

Twickenham Stadium is the home of England Rugby and the largest dedicated rugby union venue in the world, seating up to 82,000 people.

The stadium is a fantastic destination to host events in London, offering 34 event spaces and 150 pitch-view boxes for meeting rooms. The stadium’s versatility offers event planners unique experiences such as pitch-side barbecues and access to the England Changing Rooms, plus larger opportunities including use of the auditorium, or even presentations within the stadium bowl for up to 3000 delegates.

To take part in PA Life Club member events such as this, please join the Club here – it’s free for all PAs, EAs, VAs, Office Manager and other admin and business support professionals.