The NEC flexible seating investment
19 September 2017Following recent news of an impressive 50% year on year growth in revenue from live experiential events at the NEC, the venue has underlined its commitment to being the venue of choice for organisers with a £1.2 investment in a bespoke, state of the art tiered seating system.
Clients can choose from up to seven tribunes of 273 seats – which can be rolled out rapidly into any configuration – offering stylish seating for audiences in a fraction of the time it takes to deploy demountable seating, and at a fraction of the cost. The seating has been purpose-designed for the NEC and can be used in any of the NEC’s 20 interconnected multipurpose halls.
NEC Director Conference and Live Events, Adrian Evans said, “These seats are game-changers. The flexibility and speed of deployment makes lead times shorter and increases availability at the venue, co-ordinating perfectly with flat floor seating to offer even more formatting options and accommodating higher delegate numbers.
“The industry and it’s working practices are rapidly evolving and this new seating system enables clients to work faster, smarter, more flexibly and at a lower cost. We listen carefully to clients and agencies to ensure that our offering is at the forefront of event services and that we’re able to deliver what they want to bring their vision to life.”
“Every client wants something different, every agency is looking for a venue that can deliver a format that has never been done before – and that’s what the NEC is delivering.”
To make sure the seats were fit for purpose for clients, the NEC had prototypes of the seats delivered to the offices in January and invited key agency clients to come and experience them first hand.
Adrian added, “We took on their feedback on everything from seat height and width to colours and general ergonomics to make sure we were covering every element that makes for the perfect delegate experience – providing them with a high level of comfort whilst also enabling organisations to reflect their brands’ quality and image.”
“Not only that but they are cost effective, our quality seats offer better value for money than demountable seating and as the flexible tribunes are completely mobile they can be used in any of our ‘blank canvas’ halls.
“All this is helps to make our clients’ lives easier, us more accessible as a venue and most importantly ensures the client enjoys the maximum impact from their budget, and we hope that sits as comfortably with their aims and ambitions as our new seating system does with their events.”