#TBF22 Guest Spotlight: Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club

In the countdown to #TBF22, we’re highlighting some of the VIP guests who will be joining us in Manchester. This week, we spoke to Joel Spicer, ticket operations manager for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion. 

Spicer has been with Brighton for almost seven years, having started in 2015 as the ticket operations coordinator, before being promoted to his current role in 2018 as the ticket operations manager. 

Sport, arts and entertainment suffered significantly during the pandemic with matches played behind closed doors without fans, closed theatres and a ban on live events. Spicer highlighted how good it is to have fans back at Brighton’s home ground, American Express Community Stadium, and how the pandemic has re-directed the club’s ticketing approach.

TheTicketingBusiness: What’s exciting in ticketing and technology and how is the restart going?

Joel Spicer: First of all, it’s exciting to have fans back in stadiums again and the atmosphere that creates. There has also been a real move to digital ticketing and especially contactless ticketing. 

It feels like it’s been talked about for so long, but it’s finally here.

TTB: What’s on the roadmap for the next 6-12 months?

JS: We’re hosting the Women’s EUROs at our stadium in the summer, and then we have an amended season schedule to fit in the Men’s World Cup next winter, so it’s going to be another exceptional year. 

I’m hoping we can continue to build on digital ticketing and hopefully make the most of the flexibility that allows.

TTB: What are you looking forward to most about the Forum?

JS: I’m most looking forward to seeing all the innovation and new technologies out there. Seeing what is working elsewhere and what is worth adopting to enhance the fan experience, and what is maybe too early for us but good to look out for in the future.

Join Joel – and hundreds of colleagues – at TheTicketingBusiness Forum 2022 in Manchester. Further details here.

Image: Joel Spicer/Barbara van Cleeve/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size, Joel Spicer image added